Strydom Tom, Lavan Robert P, Torres Siddhartha, Heaney Kathleen
MSD Animal Health, 20 Spartan Road, Isando, Kempton Park 1619, South Africa.
Merck & Co., Inc., 126 E. Lincoln Avenue, Rahway, NJ 07065, USA.
Animals (Basel). 2023 May 10;13(10):1599. doi: 10.3390/ani13101599.
Global human population growth requires the consumption of more meat such as beef to meet human needs for protein intake. Cattle parasites are a constant and serious threat to the development of the beef cattle industry. Studies have shown that parasites not only reduce the performance of beef cattle, but also negatively affect the profitability of beef agriculture and have many other impacts, including contributing to the production of greenhouse gases. In addition, some zoonotic parasitic diseases may also threaten human health. Therefore, ongoing cattle parasite research is crucial for continual parasite control and the development of the beef cattle industry. Parasitism challenges profitable beef production by reducing feed efficiency, immune function, reproductive efficiency, liveweight, milk yield, calf yield and carcass weight, and leads to liver condemnations and disease transmission. Globally, beef cattle producers incur billions (US$) in losses due to parasitism annually, with gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) and cattle ticks causing the greatest economic impact. The enormity of losses justifies parasitic control measures to protect profits and improve animal welfare. Geographical differences in production environment, management practices, climate, cattle age and genotype, parasite epidemiology and susceptibility to chemotherapies necessitate control methods customized for each farm. Appropriate use of anthelmintics, endectocides and acaricides have widely been shown to result in net positive return on investment. Implementing strategic parasite control measures, with thorough knowledge of parasite risk, prevalence, parasiticide resistance profiles and prices can result in positive economic returns for beef cattle farmers in all sectors.
全球人口增长需要消耗更多的肉类，如牛肉，以满足人类对蛋白质摄入的需求。牛寄生虫对肉牛产业的发展构成持续且严重的威胁。研究表明，寄生虫不仅会降低肉牛的生产性能，还会对肉牛养殖业的盈利能力产生负面影响，并有许多其他影响，包括导致温室气体排放。此外，一些人畜共患寄生虫病也可能威胁人类健康。因此，持续开展牛寄生虫研究对于持续控制寄生虫和肉牛产业的发展至关重要。寄生虫病通过降低饲料效率、免疫功能、繁殖效率、体重、产奶量、犊牛产量和胴体重量，对盈利性肉牛生产构成挑战，并导致肝脏被判定不合格以及疾病传播。在全球范围内，肉牛生产者每年因寄生虫病损失数十亿美元，其中胃肠道线虫和牛蜱造成的经济影响最大。损失的巨大程度证明了采取寄生虫控制措施以保护利润和改善动物福利的合理性。生产环境、管理方式、气候、牛的年龄和基因型、寄生虫流行病学以及对化疗的易感性等方面的地域差异，使得每个农场都需要定制控制方法。广泛研究表明，合理使用驱虫药、体内外寄生虫药和杀螨剂可带来净正投资回报。在充分了解寄生虫风险、流行情况、抗寄生虫药耐药性概况和价格的基础上实施战略寄生虫控制措施，可为各部门的肉牛养殖户带来积极的经济回报。
