Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich.
Schweiz Arch Tierheilkd. 2022 May;164(5):385-399. doi: 10.17236/sat00355.
Intestinal helminth management in horses has both clinical and epidemiologic relevance, in additional association with anthelmintic resistance. The Swiss Army employs military owned riding horses and privately owned pack horses, which are brought together for service periods up to 12 weeks. We compared husbandry conditions and intestinal helminth management of both groups via questionnaire and analysed faecal samples of 53 riding horses and 130 pack horses using combined sedimentation/flotation, the McMaster method and larval cultures. Riding horses only had cyathostomin infections (prevalence: 60,4 %), while pack horses harboured cyathostomins (71,5 %), Parascaris sp. (6,9 %) and Strongylus vulgaris (1,5 %). Regression models combining faecal sample results with questionnaire data unveiled correlations of husbandry practices with parasite frequencies identifying risk and protective factors. Pasture management, hygiene and deworming practices were highly variable for pack horses, while for riding horses there was an overall concept. This included a selective deworming strategy with faecal egg counts (FECs) of strongyles prior to deworming, applying a threshold of 200 eggs per gram of faeces (epg). Anthelmintic treatments based on FECs, weekly faeces removal on pastures (pastures), the use of macrocyclic lactones and deworming horses regularly were identified as protective factors regarding the 200 epg threshold for strongyle eggs. Accordingly, the mean epg for strongyle eggs between the groups (111 and 539 in riding and pack horses, respectively) was significantly different (p < 0,001). Overall, intestinal helminth management in pack -horses showed room for improvement regarding pasture hygiene, the used anthelmintics and the frequency of deworming, from which all Swiss Army horses would benefit, as they share pastures during their -service, therefore entailing the risk of parasite transmission.
马的肠道寄生虫管理具有临床和流行病学意义，此外还与驱虫剂耐药性有关。瑞士军队拥有军用骑乘马和私人驮马，这些马会被集中在一起服役长达 12 周。我们通过问卷调查比较了两组的饲养条件和肠道寄生虫管理情况，并对 53 匹骑乘马和 130 匹驮马的粪便样本进行了分析，使用了组合沉淀/漂浮法、麦克马斯特法和幼虫培养法。骑乘马只感染了Cyathostomin（流行率：60.4%），而驮马则携带了Cyathostomin（71.5%）、Parascaris sp.（6.9%）和Strongylus vulgaris（1.5%）。将粪便样本结果与问卷调查数据相结合的回归模型揭示了饲养实践与寄生虫频率之间的相关性，确定了风险和保护因素。对于驮马，牧场管理、卫生和驱虫实践高度多样化，而对于骑乘马，则有一个总体概念。这包括在驱虫前使用粪便虫卵计数（FEC）对Strongyles 进行有针对性的驱虫策略，应用粪便中 200 个虫卵/克（epg）的阈值。根据 FEC 进行驱虫治疗、每周清除牧场上的粪便（pastures）、使用大环内酯类药物和定期驱虫被确定为针对 Strongyle 卵 200 epg 阈值的保护因素。因此，两组之间的 Strongyle 卵平均 epg（骑乘马和驮马分别为 111 和 539）差异显著（p < 0.001）。总的来说，驮马的肠道寄生虫管理在牧场卫生、使用的驱虫剂和驱虫频率方面还有改进的空间，所有瑞士军队的马都将受益，因为它们在服役期间共享牧场，因此存在寄生虫传播的风险。
