Influence of sex and reproductive status on susceptibility of ruminants to nematode parasitism.

Bulls and rams are notorious among stockmen and stud breeders for their apparently greater susceptibility than cows, ewes, steers or wethers to diseases caused by excessive infection with parasitic nematodes. Extension advice given to farmers generally includes a recommendation to treat entire male animals as though they were weaners. In contrast, the scientific literature contains little documentation of this fact, although the phenomenon has been well-described in laboratory animals. Scientific interest in the susceptibility of lactating cows and especially ewes to nematode parasitism has been more extensive, but unproductive in terms of elucidating responsible mechanisms. Where ewes have acquired immunity to nematode infection, they tend to lose it around the time of parturition and during lactation, with important epidemiological and productivity consequences. In strains of sheep selected for resistance to nematode infection, principally through a more rapidly acquired immune response, resistant ewes still undergo a periparturient loss of immunity but retain their relative superiority over unselected or susceptible ewes. The mechanisms involve effects of hormones associated with lactation on the immune system, but an unequivocal role for prolactin or any other hormone has not yet been identified. Collaboration between immunologists, endocrinologists and parasitologists is required.