morantel and Trichostrongyloidiasis

A strain of Haemonchus contortus from the Pietermaritzburg district of Natal was found to be resistant to levamisole (geometric mean efficacy 76.5%), morantel (41.9%), the benzimidazoles (oxfendazole: 33.7%) and rafoxanide (82.0%), but apparently fully susceptible to closantel and disophenol. In the case of ivermectin, a mean of 5.2% of the H. contortus was not removed at a dosage of 200 micrograms kg-1 live mass. A second strain of H. contortus, from Amsterdam in the south-eastern Transvaal, showed reduced susceptibility to levamisole (80.8%) and morantel (46.2%), the only 2 drugs tested. This is apparently the first report of resistance to the levamisole/morantel group of anthelmintics in sheep in South Africa.

Topics: Animals; Anthelmintics; Clinical Trials as Topic; Drug Resistance; Haemonchiasis; Haemonchus; Levamisole; Morantel; Pyrimidines; Sheep; Sheep Diseases; Trichostrongyloidea; Trichostrongyloidiasis

The gerbil Meriones unguiculatus, infected with three species of nematodes, each located in a separate part of the gastrointestinal tract, provided a reliable laboratory assay for the evaluation of broad-spectrum anthelmintic activity. Gerbils harbouring 6-day-old infections of Haemonchus contortus, Trichostrongylus colubriformis and T. sigmodontis were given selected broad-spectrum anthelmintics by gavage. Three benzimidazoles, thiabendazole, oxfendazole and albendazole, a tetrahydropyrimidine, morantel, an imidazothiazole, levamisole hydrochloride, a macrocyclic lactone, ivermectin and an experimental natural product, paraherquamide, were active against all three nematodes at various dosages. Trichostrongylus colubriformis was most sensitive to levamisole hydrochloride, morantel, thiabendazole and paraherquamide whereas ivermectin, oxfendazole and albendazole were more effective against H. contortus. All compounds were active against the caecal nematode T. sigmodontis although it was less sensitive than T. colubriformis. Haemonchus contortus was more sensitive than T. sigmodontis to all anthelmintics tested except thiabendazole.

Topics: Albendazole; Animals; Anthelmintics; Benzimidazoles; Female; Gerbillinae; Haemonchiasis; Haemonchus; Indolizines; Ivermectin; Levamisole; Male; Morantel; Parasitic Sensitivity Tests; Spiro Compounds; Thiabendazole; Trichostrongyloidea; Trichostrongyloidiasis; Trichostrongylus

In the alpine region, mixed grazing systems with cattle of different age, origin and prophylaxis against trichostrongylid infections are most common. Under these conditions the administration of anthelmintic devices to susceptible calves is frequently postponed to June or July to achieve a better protection during the period of increased pasture infectivity in summer and autumn. In a field experiment with 27 first-year grazing calves a morantel sustained-release trilaminate bolus (MSRT, Pfizer) was given to two groups (Groups A and B) of nine naturally infected calves each, on 22 July. Calves of Group B were moved to a clean pasture (B) 1 day later, whereas the calves of Group A remained on the previous pasture (A) together with nine untreated calves (Group C). The contamination with infective larvae (L3) on Pasture A remained below 1000 L3 kg-1 dry matter, which was sufficient to produce clinical parasitic gastroenteritis in five of nine control calves. The MSRT bolus reduced the mean egg output by more than 90% within 14 days after administration and prevented clinical parasitic gastroenteritis in the calves of Groups A and B. Owing to the persisting infection risk on Pasture A, the mean serum pepsinogen levels reached about 3000 mU tyrosine in the calves of Group A in September compared with approximately 2000 mU in Group B grazing the clean pasture. However, the differences in pasture contamination were not reflected in the mean bodyweight of the calves, which were 20 kg heavier at the end of the trial in both MSRT-treated groups compared with the control calves (P < 0.01). As there is a high probability that a moderate larval contamination is present on prealpine and alpine community pastures in summer, the metaphylactic use of an MSRT bolus in mid-July is likely to limit trichostrongylid infections within a subclinical range and thus provides sufficient protection of susceptible calves against parasitic gastroenteritis.

Topics: Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Delayed-Action Preparations; Feces; Female; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic; Male; Morantel; Parasite Egg Count; Pepsinogens; Seasons; Switzerland; Trichostrongyloidiasis; Weather; Weight Gain

Topics: Abomasum; Animals; Blood Chemical Analysis; Feces; Female; Goat Diseases; Goats; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic; Intestine, Small; Male; Morantel; Parasite Egg Count; Trichostrongyloidiasis

An experiment was conducted in calves to investigate the efficacy of a morantel sustained release trilaminate bolus (MSRT) to control gastrointestinal parasitism and to assess the development of immunity during the use of MSRT. Two groups (M and U) of four calves each were infected three times a week with a mixed Ostertagia ostertagi and Cooperia oncophora infection for 12 weeks. Calves of Group M received an MSRT at the start of the experiment. Twenty weeks after the start of the experiment, all animals, including a previously uninfected control group (C), received a challenge with 100,000 Ostertagia and 100,000 Cooperia. After a further 4 weeks all calves were necropsied for worm counts. During the trial calves were weighed and faecal egg counts, larval differentiation and pepsinogen concentrations were determined. The results demonstrated the high level of efficacy of the MSRT in reducing the faecal egg output and preventing parasitic gastroenteritis under conditions of a continuous high rate of infection. Efficacy of treatment was higher for Cooperia than for Ostertagia. Post-mortem worm counts suggested a partially impaired immunity build-up in Group M, at least for Cooperia.

Topics: Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Delayed-Action Preparations; Feces; Immunity, Active; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic; Morantel; Nematode Infections; Ostertagiasis; Parasite Egg Count; Pepsinogens; Random Allocation; Trichostrongyloidiasis; Weight Gain

A grazing experiment was performed in the Swiss midland region with 22 first-season calves which were grazed together from May to mid July when they were allocated to two equal groups, one receiving a morantel sustained-release trilaminate bolus (Paratect Flex) bolus, Pfizer, Zurich, Switzerland) and the other one remaining as an untreated control. Each group was moved to a clean pasture on 21 July. The larval contamination on the pasture with the control animals reached 4652 third stage larvae (L3) per kilogram of dry matter (L3 kg-1 DM) after 10 weeks. Parasitic gastroenteritis was observed in two calves of the control group in August, and mean serum pepsinogen levels exceeded 4000 mU tyrosine in this group in September. Eggs from Ostertagia sp. and Cooperia sp. that were excreted by the animals at the beginning of July and the end of August showed similar hatching rates of 94% and 99%, respectively. In the calves of the bolus group the egg output was reduced by 95% within 14 days of administration of the bolus. Larval contamination on the pasture of the bolus group was zero until the beginning of September when a slight increase occurred, reaching 793 L3 kg-1 DM in October. At the end of the trial the bolus-treated calves had a mean weight gain advantage of 18 kg (P < 0.05) compared with the controls. The results confirm that a second generation of larvae developed on pasture in August and September and caused parasitic gastroenteritis in first-year grazing calves in late summer. The relevance of the results for the prophylaxis of parasitic gastroenteritis in calves in mixed grazing systems with calves and older cattle is discussed.

Topics: Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Delayed-Action Preparations; Feces; Female; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic; Larva; Male; Morantel; Parasite Egg Count; Pepsinogens; Seasons; Trichostrongyloidea; Trichostrongyloidiasis

An experiment was conducted in calves to investigate the effect of sustained release and pulse release anthelmintic intraruminal boli on the development of pathophysiological changes following daily infection with Ostertagia ostertagi and Cooperia oncophora for six weeks. After infection various pathophysiological changes were detected including increases in serum pepsinogen concentration, enteric plasma protein losses and in the catabolic rate of albumin. Such changes developed rapidly in the unprotected calves following patency after 17 days and persisted until the termination of the study. There were indications that the sustained anthelmintic release device was more efficacious than the pulse anthelmintic release device in reducing the worm burdens and early pathophysiological changes associated with infection. It was found at necropsy that the release of anthelmintic by the oxfendazole pulse release bolus had been delayed in several calves.

Topics: Animals; Anthelmintics; Benzimidazoles; Blood Proteins; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Delayed-Action Preparations; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic; Male; Morantel; Ostertagiasis; Parasite Egg Count; Pepsinogens; Serum Albumin; Trichostrongyloidiasis

A novel intraruminal bolus developed for the sustained delivery of the anthelmintic morantel tartrate was evaluated in the seasonal control of parasitic gastroenteritis in first season grazing calves. The morantel sustained release trilaminate is a trilaminate sheet consisting of a central lamina of a morantel tartrate/ethylene vinyl acetate matrix coated on both sides with a thin impermeable layer of ethylene vinyl acetate. A symmetrical pattern of circular perforations punched through the device controls the release of morantel. Administration of the trilaminate to calves significantly reduced their faecal egg output compared with untreated controls and thus reduced pasture larval contamination. Clinical parasitic gastroenteritis was prevented in the treated calves and there were significant reductions in their worm burdens compared with the untreated control calves both during and at the end of the grazing season. The control of parasitic gastroenteritis resulted in a significantly greater (P less than 0.0001) weight gain, of 45 kg, by the treated calves.

Topics: Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Delayed-Action Preparations; Feces; Gastroenteritis; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic; Male; Morantel; Parasite Egg Count; Pyrimidines; Time Factors; Trichostrongyloidea; Trichostrongyloidiasis; Weight Gain

Changes in anthelmintic resistance in nematode parasites were monitored in sheep grazing on 2 separate farms, but with the same anthelmintic treatment program, over 16 years. High levels of benzimidazole resistance emerged in Ostertagia and Trichostrongylus spp populations on both farms following 9 years of continuous use of this class of drug. Subsequently, variations in the levels of resistance occurred for the same species between farms and between species on the same farm. A change to levamisole for 2 years resulted in a significant reversion towards benzimidazole susceptibility, but a concomitant rise in levamisole resistance, in Ostertagia on one farm. However, benzimidazole resistance increased rapidly following the re-introduction of oxfendazole into the anthelmintic treatment program. Results from both farms illustrate the pitfalls of using one anthelmintic class for an extended period and provide indirect support for the alternation of anthelmintic classes at approximately yearly intervals.

Topics: Animals; Antinematodal Agents; Benzimidazoles; Drug Resistance; Levamisole; Morantel; Ostertagia; Ostertagiasis; Sheep; Sheep Diseases; Trichostrongyloidiasis; Trichostrongylosis; Trichostrongylus

An experiment was carried out to assess the effect of morantel tartrate in the faeces of calves treated with a bolus on the survival and development of Ostertagia ostertagi eggs. Since the drug delivered from the bolus greatly reduces the nematode population in an infected animal and thus the number of eggs excreted it was necessary to mix O ostertagi eggs into the faeces of calves to which boluses had been administered. In three preliminary experiments it was shown that the methods used to extract the nematode eggs from faeces of infected cattle and remix them into faeces from uninfected cattle did not appear to affect their development into larvae or their even distribution in the faeces into which they had been remixed. The concentration of morantel tartrate lethal to O ostertagi eggs was in the range 0.0015 to 0.0025 M in vitro. It was demonstrated that the presence of the drug in the faeces of dosed calves prevented the maturation of approximately 99 per cent of O ostertagi eggs to infective larvae between days 7 and 84 after the administration of a bolus and of 75 per cent on day 91. These results help to explain the well recognised effect of the bolus in cleaning pastures of O ostertagi.

Topics: Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Delayed-Action Preparations; Feces; Larva; Male; Morantel; Ostertagia; Ostertagiasis; Parasite Egg Count; Pyrimidines; Trichostrongyloidiasis

Topics: Animals; Anthelmintics; Drug Resistance; Drug Therapy, Combination; Fenbendazole; Levamisole; Morantel; Organophosphorus Compounds; Ostertagiasis; Sheep; Sheep Diseases; Trichostrongyloidiasis; Trichostrongylosis

Herbage intake was measured in two groups of 20 first-year grazing cattle. The animals in one group each received a morantel sustained release bolus at turnout to control nematode parasitism and the animals in the other group remained untreated. The latter group showed a mean peak faecal egg count of 655 eggs per gram (e.p.g.) in October associated with high serum pepsinogen concentration and clinical signs of ostertagiasis, compared with a peak of 119 e.p.g. in the treated group which remained in good health. In September the daily voluntary feed intake of the untreated animals was significantly depressed (94 g kg-1 body weight vs. 77 g kg-1 P less than 0.001), but no difference in digestive efficiency was recorded between the two groups. This difference in feed intake was associated with a 47 kg mean live weight advantage of the treated animals at housing.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Delayed-Action Preparations; Digestion; Eating; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic; Male; Morantel; Ostertagia; Ostertagiasis; Pyrimidines; Seasons; Trichostrongyloidea; Trichostrongyloidiasis; Trichostrongylus

Topics: Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Delayed-Action Preparations; Drug Resistance; Feces; Female; Larva; Morantel; Ostertagia; Ostertagiasis; Parasite Egg Count; Pepsinogens; Pyrimidines; Trichostrongyloidiasis

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Delayed-Action Preparations; Feces; Female; Gastroenteritis; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic; Larva; Morantel; Ostertagiasis; Parasite Egg Count; Pyrimidines; Trichostrongyloidiasis

Three groups of calves, previously grazed on permanent pastures contaminated with bovine trichostrongyle (Ostertagia and Cooperia species) infective larvae, were housed from October to May. During the grazing season one group had received fenbendazole at fortnightly intervals to suppress trichostrongyle infections, one received a morantel sustained release bolus before grazing to limit trichostrongyle contamination of the pasture, and the control group was only medicated when heavy infections caused clinical type 1 ostertagiasis. Digestibility of the whole diet was poorer in the control cattle, particularly for dry matter, crude protein and energy fractions. Balance studies conducted throughout the winter housed period showed that both increased faecal and urinary nitrogen outputs in the control animals contributed to a significantly reduced overall nitrogen retention. The effects were most apparent during clinical type 2 ostertagiasis, which occurred in March in the control group.

Topics: Aging; Animal Feed; Animals; Benzimidazoles; Body Weight; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Delayed-Action Preparations; Digestion; Fenbendazole; Male; Morantel; Nitrogen; Poaceae; Pyrimidines; Trichostrongyloidiasis; Trichostrongylosis

Friesian steers were exposed to natural trichostrongyle infection and left untreated (controls) or treated with either a morantel sustained release bolus or fenbendazole at two week intervals (clean) in each of two consecutive grazing seasons. In the second grazing season the mean liveweight gains of the clean, morantel treated and control groups of cattle over 152 days were 105, 131 and 109 kg respectively (morantel treated greater than clean, control P less than 0.02). The cattle were slaughtered following an indoor fattening period. The dressed carcase weight, killing out percentage and related carcase measurements were superior in the treated groups. Eighty per cent of the clean and morantel treated cattle graded satisfactorily and qualified for subsidy payment whereas less than 30 per cent of the control cattle were successful. Rib joint analyses showed significantly lower total weight, eye muscle weight and area together with a higher bone content in control cattle.

Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Benzimidazoles; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Delayed-Action Preparations; Fenbendazole; Male; Meat; Morantel; Orchiectomy; Pepsinogens; Poaceae; Pyrimidines; Seasons; Trichostrongyloidiasis; Trichostrongylosis; Trichostrongylus

The efficacy of the morantel sustained-release bolus (MSRB) in controlling gastrointestinal parasites in first-season grazing calves was evaluated on a dairy cattle farm in Belgium. The calves grazed a pasture which had been used by bolus-treated animals in the three previous years. The effect of bolus administration was determined with respect to live weight gain, faecal egg shedding, herbage larval counts, serum pepsinogen levels and ELISA antibody titres. In spite of an incomplete reduction of faecal egg shedding during the first months of the grazing season, bolus administration resulted in the prevention of parasitic gastro-enteritis in the calves. A weight gain advantage of 35,2 kg of the bolus-treated animals over the controls was noted already at two months after turnout. This weight gain advantage was maintained until housing. The usefulness of serum pepsinogen values and ELISA antibody titres as parameters in prevention experiments is stressed. Both serological parameters gave more information concerning infection level than did the faecal egg output and the herbage larval counts.

Topics: Animals; Antibody Formation; Belgium; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Delayed-Action Preparations; Epidemiologic Methods; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic; Morantel; Pyrimidines; Seasons; Trichostrongyloidiasis

Infective 3rd-stage larvae of Ostertagia and Cooperia, obtained from the feces of nonmedicated and morantel sustained-release bolus (MSRB)-treated calves, were orally administered to 2 groups of parasite-free calves. After a 42-day maturation period, a therapeutic dose of morantel tartrate was administered to half of the calves from each group. All calves were necropsied 7 days after treatment. After comparing the nematode counts for the nonmedicated and morantel-treated calves of each group, morantel tartrate was demonstrated to be equally effective against the nonmedicated-derived and MSRB-derived nematode populations. The sensitivity of Ostertagia spp and Cooperia spp to morantel tartrate, therefore, was not diminished after use of the MSRB for a single grazing season.

Topics: Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Delayed-Action Preparations; Feces; Morantel; Ostertagiasis; Parasite Egg Count; Pyrimidines; Seasons; Trichostrongyloidea; Trichostrongyloidiasis

The efficacy of morantel tartrate when administered on a continuous basis directly into the rumen/reticulum of cattle, either by a cannula or from a specially designed device, was evaluated against gastrointestinal parasites under laboratory conditions. In two experiments the continuous infusion of morantel at rates between 0.26 and 1.04 mg/kg body weight per day using a peristaltic pump was highly efficacious in both preventing the establishment of infections and removing established infections of the following species: Ostertagia ostertagi, Haemonchus contortus, Cooperia oncophora and Trichostrongylus colubriformis. The same dose rates also prevented establishment of Dictyocaulus viviparus infection but were ineffective against established infections of this parasite. In another two experiments the continuous release of morantel tartrate for at least 60 days (at rates between 0.65 and 1.11 mg/kg body weight per day) from a specially designed intraruminal sustained release bolus (secured at each end by a polyethylene impregnated semi-permeable membrane) was highly efficacious in both preventing the establishment of infections and removing established infections of the following species: O. ostertagi, T. axei, T. colubriformis and C. oncophora.

Topics: Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Delayed-Action Preparations; Dictyocaulus Infections; Drug Evaluation; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic; Male; Morantel; Pyrimidines; Rumen; Trichostrongyloidiasis

The morantel sustained release bolus was administered at turnout to first-season grazing calves in order to assess its efficacy in the seasonal control of infection by nematode parasites in Ireland. The pastures grazed by control calves showed a marked increase in gastrointestinal trichostrongylid infective larvae by September, while numbers of infective larvae on pasture grazed by bolus-treated calves remained at a low level throughout the grazing season. In consequence, the controls showed significantly higher worm egg counts in late season and significantly higher worm burdens (mainly Ostertagia spp) at necropsy carried out in November on representative number of principal animals selected from each group. These reduced worm burdens were attributed to the suppression of egg output during the early part of the season as a result of treatment with the morantel sustained release bolus at turnout in the spring. Pasture contamination with Dictyocaulus viviparus larvae was present on all treatment pastures. The bolus-treated calves however were subjected to an increase in D. viviparus infection which occurred on their pasture in late season after the active life of the bolus had expired. It was concluded that bolus treatment delayed (rather than prevented) the buildup of D. viviparus infection on the pasture by 60-90 days.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Delayed-Action Preparations; Dictyocaulus Infections; Drug Evaluation; Ireland; Male; Morantel; Ostertagiasis; Parasite Egg Count; Pyrimidines; Seasons; Trichostrongyloidiasis

The efficacy of the morantel sustained release bolus was evaluated in 20 first-season grazing calves and 92 cattle in two separate trials. All animals grazed contaminated pastures and were exposed at the time of spring turnout to a risk of infection from gastrointestinal nematodes. In the first study 45 bolus-treated and 47 nontreated control (second or third season) cattle grazed similar but separate communal pastures, while in the second study nine bolus-treated and 11 nontreated control cattle grazed together on a single pasture. Efficacy determinations were conducted by frequent observations throughout the grazing season on faecal worm egg output, serum pepsinogen levels and liveweight gain. In the older group of animals (Trial 1), small differences were recorded between treated and control animals in faecal worm egg output and levels of serum pepsinogen as monitored throughout the grazing season. A significant mean liveweight advantage of 20.27 kg (P less than 0.001) was observed in the bolus-treated group. However, unrecorded pregnancy could not be excluded with certainty as a factor responsible for weight differences. The use of the morantel sustained release bolus provided an adequate protection against parasitic gastroenteritis in the first season grazing calves (Trial 2) despite the fact that bolus-treated animals were co-mingled with control animals. Both the worm egg counts and serum pepsinogen values were lower in the bolus-treated group. The morantel sustained release bolus was well tolerated in both trials.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Delayed-Action Preparations; Dictyocaulus Infections; Drug Evaluation; Female; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic; Morantel; Nematode Infections; Parasite Egg Count; Pepsinogens; Pyrimidines; Switzerland; Trichostrongyloidiasis

The efficacy of the morantel sustained release bolus in controlling gastrointestinal and lungworm parasites when used in first-season grazing animals which followed older animals onto spring pasture (deprime system) was assessed in three trials conducted in Normandy, France. In each trial first-season grazing calves were equally allocated onto two separate but equivalent paddocks where they remained throughout the grazing season. A morantel sustained release bolus was administered to one group of animals at turnout, the other group remained as controls. The effect of the treatment on contamination of pasture (herbage larval counts and tracer worm counts), on faecal worm egg and lungworm larval counts, and on weight gain performance of the principal animals was assessed. In all three trials, worm egg output in the bolus-treated animals was substantially lower throughout the season compared with the control animals. Worm burdens of tracer calves grazing pastures of the treated cattle were also reduced compared with tracer calves grazing control pastures. Clinical parasitic gastroenteritis occurred in the control animals but not in the bolus-treated animals in one trial. Overall the bolus-treated animals outperformed the controls by a mean weight gain advantage of 10.5 kg (P less than 0.01).

Topics: Animal Husbandry; Animals; Body Weight; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Delayed-Action Preparations; Dictyocaulus Infections; Drug Evaluation; Female; France; Male; Morantel; Nematode Infections; Parasite Egg Count; Pepsinogens; Plants; Pyrimidines; Seasons; Trichostrongyloidiasis

Two field isolates of Ostertagia spp. of sheep from the Swellendam and Malmesbury districts in the south-western Cape were shown to be resistant to benzimidazole anthelmintics. At therapeutic dosage rates albendazole was 32,5%, thiabendazole 0%, oxfendazole 14,9% and morantel 91,4% effective against the adult stage of Ostertagia spp. in naturally infested lambs at Swellendam. Efficacy against the adult stage of the same isolate of Ostertagia spp. in artificially infested sheep in the laboratory was tested at dosage rates of albendazole 3,8% mg/kg or 7,6 mg/kg, mebendazole 15 mg/kg, levamisole 7,5 mg/kg and morantel 14,5 mg/kg and varied from 0%, 0%, 1,9% 53,9% and 87,0% respectively. Albendazole, the only anthelmintic tested against the Malmesbury strain of Ostertagia spp. was 9,8% effective against the adult stage in naturally infested lambs. Trichostrongylus spp. and Nematodirus spp. simultaneously present in these animals were fully susceptible to all the anthelmintics tested.

Topics: Abomasum; Animals; Anthelmintics; Benzimidazoles; Drug Resistance; Feces; Morantel; Ostertagiasis; Parasite Egg Count; Rumen; Sheep; Sheep Diseases; Thiabendazole; Trichostrongyloidea; Trichostrongyloidiasis

The efficacy of the morantel sustained release bolus system for the control of parasitic gastroenteritis in calves was evaluated in the Netherlands. The effect of bolus administration to calves, either on May 1 at the beginning of the summer grazing season or on June 12 after the pasture was mown for silage, was determined in respect of liveweight gain, faecal worm egg output, serum pepsinogen values and worm burdens. In addition, pairs of tracer calves were turned out with each group every four weeks and sacrificed for worm counts in order to monitor pasture larval contamination throughout the grazing period. Compared with nontreated control calves, the worm egg outputs of the bolus-treated calves turned out (Nematodirus helvetianus), while the bolus-treated calves turned out on June 12 had a corresponding reduction of 95 and 100 percent. Over the grazing season the average weight gain of bolus-treated calves turned out on May 1 was 34 kg more than nontreated controls turned out at the same time. Difference in weight gain of the treated and control calves turned out late in the season was 10.5 kg in favour of the treated group. The postmortem worm counts were highest in the control calves turned out early and lowest in the bolus-treated calves turned out late. All tracer calves placed on the paddock grazed by control calves (turned out early) died from parasitic gastroenteritis from July onwards while those from the paddock grazed by the control calves (turned out late) died from parasitic gastroenteritis from September onwards. All the tracer calves placed on the paddocks grazed by bolus-treated calves survived until the intended slaughter date.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Delayed-Action Preparations; Drug Evaluation; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic; Male; Morantel; Netherlands; Parasite Egg Count; Pepsinogens; Pyrimidines; Seasons; Trichostrongyloidiasis

The efficacy of a morantel sustained release bolus to control gastrointestinal parasitism during two consecutive grazing seasons was assessed in replacement dairy heifers raised under field conditions in Austria. Thirty calves were randomly allotted into two equal groups and maintained throughout the 1979 summer pasturing season on adjacent pastures of equal size with identical grazing history. Twenty-four of the thirty calves used in 1979 were monitored throughout 1980, each animal remained in the same treatment group as the previous year and grazed the same pastures as the previous year. In both 1979 and 1980 the bolus was administered to each animal in the treated group one week before turnout onto spring pastures, while the control animals received no anthelmintic treatment during either year. The efficacy of the bolus was assessed by comparison of faecal worm egg counts, herbage larval counts, worm counts from tracer and principal trial animals, weight gains and by the incidence of clinical disease found in both tracer and trial animals throughout the grazing season. Milk production was also monitored for all animals in both treatment groups during the first lactation. The system of treatment used in the present study with the morantel sustained release bolus was highly effective in preventing a significant buildup of infective larvae on pasture to the end of the grazing season in both years. In 1979 worm counts of tracer calves grazed on the treated pastures in mid-August were similar to those recorded at the beginning of the season, while worm counts in the control tracers were five times the total found at the beginning of the season. In 1979 the bolus-treated calves outperformed the control group by 34.8 kg (P less than 0.001) over the 168-day grazing period. These results demonstrated that administration of the bolus to calves at the time of turnout onto spring pastures was most effective both in controlling parasites within the cattle themselves and in reducing the level of parasite contamination. During the second grazing season (1980) no beneficial effect in weight gain was observed due to the second bolus treatment. Weight gains realized during the first year, however, largely remained through the second year and the bolus-treated heifers reached breeding weight on average 19 days earlier. No difference in milk yield was observed between the treated and control animals during thier first year of lactation.

Topics: Animals; Austria; Body Weight; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Delayed-Action Preparations; Drug Evaluation; Female; Morantel; Parasite Egg Count; Pyrimidines; Trichostrongyloidiasis

During two consecutive grazing seasons, the strategic use of the morantel sustained release bolus (MSRB) was monitored each year in first season grazing calves (maintained both years on the same pasture). The object of the study was to determine the effects of bolus treatment in young calves during successive years on the level of pasture larval contamination available at the beginning of the second year, and on the pattern of pasture recontamination that occurred during the second year. The level of worm burdens acquired in the trial animals at the end of the grazing season was determined both years. Tracer worm counts were determined during the first year of the study, while faecal worm egg counts, herbage larval counts and weight gain were monitored both years. During the first year (1979) the selected pasture was equally divided into three separate paddocks. Two paddocks were grazed by control calves, while each animal grazing the third paddock received a bolus at the time of turnout. During the second year (1980) three groups of calves were used. One group was treated with the bolus and grazed the same paddock as calves treated with the bolus the previous year. The second group was treated with the bolus and grazed the control paddock from the previous year, while the third group of calves remained nontreated and grazed the remaining paddock grazed by control calves from the previous year. As a result of the bolus treatment during the first year, the number of overwintering nematode larvae recovered the following spring was considerably lower than the number recorded on the paddock grazed previously by control animals. Worm counts and efficacy calculations demonstrated that worm burdens accumulated during the season were considerably lower in the bolus treated cattle during the second year than during the first. These parasitological differences were reflected in the weight gain comparisons between the treated and control cattle. Although significantly improved weight gains were recorded for both groups of treated cattle compared with the control cattle during the second year, the treated cattle grazing the treated paddock had a greater improvement than the treated cattle grazing the control paddock from the previous year.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Delayed-Action Preparations; Drug Evaluation; Male; Morantel; Parasite Egg Count; Plants; Pyrimidines; Seasons; Sweden; Trichostrongyloidea; Trichostrongyloidiasis

Topics: Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Delayed-Action Preparations; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Male; Morantel; Ostertagiasis; Pyrimidines; Time Factors; Trichostrongyloidea; Trichostrongyloidiasis

Topics: Animals; Benzimidazoles; Cambendazole; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; Female; Fenbendazole; Gerbillinae; Levamisole; Morantel; Pyrimidines; Trichostrongyloidea; Trichostrongyloidiasis; Trichostrongylosis

Guinea pigs infected with Trichostrongylus colubriformis were used to develop an assay for anthelmintic resistance by determination of worm burdens following treatment with test anthelmintics. To achieve comparable efficacy with the recommended dose of thiabendazole and levamisole in sheep, dose rates in guinea pigs had to be increased two to four fold. For example, thiabendazole at 100 mg/kg in guinea pigs was 96.6 per cent effective against a thiabendazole susceptible (GS) strain of T colubriformis, but had no effect against a thiabendazole-resistant (VRSG) strain. In sheep 50 mg/kg of thiabendazole would have a similar efficacy against each strain respectively. Morantel tartrate at 10 mg/kg in guinea pigs was 99 to 100 per cent effective against the GS strain but only 54 per cent effective against a morantel resistant (PF4) strain. A slope ratio assay was used to calculate the relative potency of anthelmintics by comparing efficacies against resistant strains with efficacy against the GS strain. Resistance of the VRSG strain to thiabendazole was confirmed with a relative potency for this drug of 0.047 in guinea pigs. The PF4 strain was resistant to both thiabendazole and levamisole which had relative potencies of 0.168 and 0.255 respectively. The advantages of this statistical treatment together with the cost and time savings of the guinea pig model over a conventional critical anthelmintic assay in sheep are discussed.

Topics: Animals; Anthelmintics; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; Drug Resistance; Female; Guinea Pigs; Levamisole; Male; Morantel; Rodent Diseases; Sheep; Sheep Diseases; Thiabendazole; Trichostrongyloidea; Trichostrongyloidiasis; Trichostrongylosis

Benzimidazole resistant strains of Haemonchus contortus and Ostertagia spp were subjected to selection pressure over five laboratory generations with the recommended dose rates of either cambendazole, oxfendazole or morantel. A change in response, with larger residual worm burdens remaining after treatment at the fifth generation, was shown for both cambendazole and oxfendazole against both species of nematode. No change in response against either species are shown for morantel. The results are discussed in terms of the problem associated with inefficient removal of the adult parasites after treatment.

Topics: Animals; Anthelmintics; Benzimidazoles; Cambendazole; Carbamates; Drug Resistance; Haemonchiasis; Male; Morantel; Ostertagiasis; Selection, Genetic; Sheep; Sheep Diseases; Trichostrongyloidiasis

The anthelmintic efficacy of low-dose phenothiazine therapy, administered as a 1:40 phenothiazine: molasses mixture, was tested against patent infections of strains of Haemonchus contortus, Trichostrongylus colubriformis and Ostertagia spp susceptible or resistant to thiabendazole (an other benzimidazoles), levamisole and morantel tartrate. Phenothiazine reduced faecal egg output for both susceptible and resistant strains of all three nematodes. In daily doses of 0.25 g per sheep per day and above it completely inhibited larval production in susceptible strains. Against resistant strains, there was a reduced efficiency with 82.3 per cent inhibition of egg hatch at the 0.25 g per sheep per day level. Phenothiazine treatment had no significant effect on worm numbers for either susceptible or resistant worms. It is suggested that benzimidazole-resistant strains may be cross-resistant to phenothiazine.

Topics: Animals; Drug Resistance; Haemonchiasis; Levamisole; Male; Morantel; Ostertagiasis; Phenothiazines; Sheep; Sheep Diseases; Thiabendazole; Trichostrongyloidea; Trichostrongyloidiasis; Trichostrongylosis

Low-dose daily phenothiazine therapy, administered as a 1:40 phenothiazine:molasses mixture, was tested against sequential infections of strains of Haemonchus contortus. Trichostrongylus colubriformis and Ostertagia spp susceptible or resistant to thiabendazole, levamisole and morantel tartrate. Phenothiazine at a dose rate of 0.5 g per sheep per day significantly reduced the numbers of worm eggs per gram of faeces in both susceptible and resistant strains by an average of 48 per cent and 60 per cent respectively. Phenothiazine completely inhibited larval production in susceptible strains. With resistant worms, larval production was depressed by up to 85.7 per cent. Treatment with phenothiazine : molasses mixture reduced the numbers of worms which became established in resistant Ostertagia spp and susceptible T colubriformis but had no effect on the establishment of susceptible H contortus and Ostertagia spp or resistant H contortus and T colubriformis.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Animals; Drug Resistance; Haemonchiasis; Levamisole; Male; Morantel; Ostertagiasis; Phenothiazines; Sheep; Sheep Diseases; Thiabendazole; Trichostrongyloidea; Trichostrongyloidiasis; Trichostrongylosis

Following the apparent failure of levamisole to control infections of Haemonchus contortus in sheep at Lawes in south eastern Queensland, a strain of this parasite was isolated at the Animal Research Institute, Yeerongpilly. This strain was used to infect sheep at Yeerongpilly and the Merrindale Research Station, Victoria where four experiments to classify the resistance pattern of the parasite were carried out. Resistance to thiabendazole was first suspected in 1969, and these experiments confirmed that resistance to this drug was still present. They also showed that a strong degree of resistance had been developed to both levamisole and morantel tartrate. Other benzimidazole anthelmintics and also the organophosphorus compound naphthalophos were only moderately effective against the original isolate but rafoxanide, nitroxynil and phenothiazine were almost 100% effective. Other highly effective chemicals were disophenol and closantel. After passaging the strain for four generations with both levamisole and albendazole, resistance to both naphthalophos and the newer benzimidazole anthelmintics increased dramatically. This is the first report of a field strain of H. contortus exhibiting resistance to benzimidazole, non-benzimidazole and organophosphorus anthelmintics.

Topics: Albendazole; Animals; Anthelmintics; Australia; Benzimidazoles; Drug Resistance; Feces; Haemonchiasis; Haemonchus; Levamisole; Morantel; Rafoxanide; Sheep; Sheep Diseases; Trichostrongyloidea; Trichostrongyloidiasis

Topics: Administration, Oral; Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Gastroenteritis; Morantel; Rumen; Seasons; Trichostrongyloidiasis

The efficacy of a morantel sustained release bolus to control ostertagiasis in grazing calves was assessed. Administration of the bolus into the rumen of calves immediately before turnout on to spring pasture in May substantially reduced the level of pasture contamination with infective larvae later in the season. Compared with controls there was a 71 per cent reduction in worm burdens acquired over the entire grazing season with a mean improvement in weight gain of 24 kg. When administration was delayed until midsummer (July) a good anthelmintic effect was obtained but there was little reduction in pasture contamination levels. Worm burdens acquired over the grazing season were reduced by only 48 per cent with a mean weight gain advantage of only 9 kg compared with controls. The control obtained against Dictyocaulus viviparus by both treatments was not absolute, failing to prevent the development of mild parasitic bronchitis.

Topics: Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Delayed-Action Preparations; Dictyocaulus; Feces; Morantel; Ostertagiasis; Parasite Egg Count; Pyrimidines; Seasons; Trichostrongyloidea; Trichostrongyloidiasis

Merino and Border Leicester cross Merino sheep, nine months old, were infected with 10,000 third stage larvae of both Trichostrongylus colubriformis (PF4) and Ostertagia circumcincta/O trifurcata (PF5), known to have varying degrees of resistance to levamisole, morantel tartrate and thiabendazole. Crossbred sheep carried heavier Ostertagia sp worm burdens but there was no difference in susceptibility between the two breeds of sheep to infection with T colubriformis. The anthelmintic efficacy of thiabendazole, at 50 mg/kg, against T colubriformis was 81.8 per cent and 92.4 per cent for Merinos and crossbreds respectively while levamisole, at 6.75 mg/kg, was 12.3 per cent and 18 per cent effective. Thiabendazole removed 92.3 per cent and 83.8 per cent of Ostertagia sp in Merinos and crossbreds respectively. However, worm burdens in levamisole treated sheep were not significantly different from controls. No significant breed differences were found in 24 h faecal egg outputs. It is suggested that breed differences previously described in four-month-old sheep may have been due to differences in the rate of development of immune responsiveness. This disparity was no longer detectable in the immunologically mature sheep used in this study.

Topics: Animals; Drug Resistance; Female; Levamisole; Male; Morantel; Ostertagiasis; Pyrimidines; Sheep; Sheep Diseases; Thiabendazole; Trichostrongyloidea; Trichostrongyloidiasis; Trichostrongylosis

Strains of Trichostrongylus colubriformis (designated PF4) and Ostertagia sp (O circumcincta/O trifurcata, designated PF5), with varying degrees of resistance to levamisole, morantel tartrate and thiabendazole were isolated into pure culture. Detailed dose response studies showed that both T colubriformis and Ostertagia sp were highly resistant to levamisole and morantel with low level resistance to thiabendazole. The effective dose required to remove 80 per cent worm burdens (ED80) was calculated for each anthelmintic. For T colubriformis the ED80 for levamisole and thiabendazole were 12.6 and 40.1 mg/kg respectively. For Ostertagia sp, the ED80 for levamisole, thiabendazole and morantel were 20.4, 45.2 and 35.8 mg/kg respectively. The implications of these results are discussed with reference to alternative means of chemical control.

Topics: Animals; Drug Resistance; Female; Levamisole; Male; Morantel; Ostertagiasis; Pyrimidines; Sheep; Sheep Diseases; Thiabendazole; Trichostrongyloidea; Trichostrongyloidiasis; Trichostrongylosis

Field strains of Trichostrongylus colubriformis and Ostertagia circumcincta, designated PF4 and PF5 respectively, were recovered from a farm on which the sole use of levamisole over a preceding 12 year period led to the development of anthelmintic resistance. The results of field observations and preliminary critical trials in both Merino and crossbred sheep showed that both species have varying degrees of resistance to three major anthelmintics; levamisole, morantel tartrate and thiabendazole. Mean worm count reductions for adult T colubriformis (PF4) for therapeutic doses of morantel tartrate, thiabendazole and levamisole in crossbreds were 45.7 per cent, 97.3 per cent and zero respectively, and for Merinos 80.7 per cent, 88.3 per cent and 92.0 per cent respectively. Against O circumcincta the corresponding reductions for crossbreds were 51.4 percent, 95.4 per cent and 20.3 per cent and for Merinos, 52.5 per cent, 73.1 per cent and 29.8 per cent. There was no statistically significant difference in the responses of both parasite species to either levamisole or morantel. This result suggests that resistance to the two chemically unrelated drugs may be co-inherited.

Topics: Animals; Drug Resistance; Levamisole; Morantel; Ostertagiasis; Pyrimidines; Sheep; Sheep Diseases; Thiabendazole; Trichostrongyloidea; Trichostrongyloidiasis; Trichostrongylosis

A field population of Trichostrongylus columbriformis was divided into 4 lines for exposure to selection in the laboratory. The first line was selected with 50 mg/kg thiabendazole, the second with 4 mg/kg morantel tartrate, the third with 50 mg/kg thiabendazole followed by 4 mg/kg morantel tartrate and the fourth line was not selected for drug resistance. Following at least 9 generations of selection there was no difference in LD50 OR LD95 between the unselected and single selected strains of worms. The strain selected by both tiabendazole and morantel tartrate had a significantly higher LD50 against thiabendazole, morantel tartrate and levamisole than did the other three strains. The single selected strains had LD95's of 172, 21.5 and 2.3 mg/kg for thiabendazole, morantel tartrate and levamisole respectively, compared with corresponding values of 111, 17.3 and 2.4 in the unselected strain and 124, 15.5 and 3.0 in the double selected strain. The estimated efficiency of the recommended dose of each anthelmintic against the unselected field strain was;-thiabendazole (44 mg/kg) 50% efficient, morantel tartrate (8.8 mg/kg) 76% efficient and levamisole (7.0 mg/kg) 99.9%efficient.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Animals; Anthelmintics; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Levamisole; Morantel; Sheep; Sheep Diseases; Thiabendazole; Trichostrongyloidiasis; Trichostrongylosis

Topics: Animals; Animals, Domestic; Anthelmintics; Benzimidazoles; Drug Resistance; Levamisole; Lung Diseases, Parasitic; Morantel; Pyrantel; Trichostrongyloidea; Trichostrongyloidiasis

Topics: Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Larva; Morantel; Niger; Pyrimidines; Thiabendazole; Trichostrongyloidea; Trichostrongyloidiasis; Trichostrongylosis