Use of anti-tick drugs in dairy farms in the microregion of Alfenas, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

Ectoparasitic infestation in dairy cattle, the most common being Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, causes significant loss in production. The control of ectoparasites often occurs incorrectly, resulting in resistance to the active ingredients and residues in milk. To understand of acaricide use in the microregion of Alfenas, Minas Gerais (Brazil), questionnaires were applied to the owners of 100 dairy farms in the region and were selected randomly. Dairy farms were allocated according to production scale: up to 150 liters/day, 151-400 liters/day and more than 400 liters/day. The interviewees were asked about production characteristics, acaricide management and active ingredients. The interview answers were subjected to descriptive analysis. Results showed that all properties, independent of production-scale, used acaricides. The most cited was: Cypermethrin Chlorpyrifos Citronellal (31%), Fluazuron (18.6%) and Fipronil (17%). Among the interviewed, 41,1% use drugs that have restrictions that are not allowed in legislation for use in lactating dairy cows (fluazuron, fipronil, ivermectin). 15% affirmed they weren’t aware of the “withdrawal period” of medication and 73% change in the active ingredient used. In order to revert this antiparasitic drug’s resistance situation and contamination of milk with drug residues, it is necessary to focus on the awareness of milk producers and training of labor.

Residuos de acaricidas en leche entera bovina de Costa Rica

“…El uso de acaricidas para el control de las garrapatas en el ganado, es una práctica común en sistemas de producción ubicados en la franja tropical (Sachi et al, 2019;Byaruhanga et al, 2020), los cuales presentan serios problemas de control por desarrollo de resistencia de los ácaros a los ingredientes activos (Rodríguez-Vivas et al, 2018), por un mal uso de estos (de Novaes et al, 2017), identificándose problemas de rotación y malas dosificaciones (Nascimento et al, 2021).…”

“…Los parásitos internos y externos del ganado sin un manejo adecuado, provocan pérdidas económicas en los sistemas de producción ubicados en regiones tropicales, subtropicales y templadas del mundo (Nari, 2005bvg). Estas pérdidas, están asociadas a la morbilidad y mortalidad que provocan en los animales, las alteraciones reproductivas y los altos costos asociados al control sanitario (Nascimento et al, 2021).…”

Vaccination against Rhipicephalusmicroplus: an alternative to chemical control?

“…The resting period must be at least 14 days in lactating cows (BASTOS et al, 2011;HERNANDES et al, 2009). However, that guideline is not always followed in Brazil, where 15% of milk producers are reportedly unaware of a resting period for any acaricide (NASCIMENTO et al, 2021). Residue levels of pyrethroid and other acaricides have been detected in up to 15.1% of milk samples, with some samples (until 6.8%) exceeding the legal limit (PICININ et al, 2016;PICININ et al, 2017;CISCATO et al, 2002;OLIVEIRA et al, 2023).…”

“…In October 2017, European Union regulations prohibited the use of fipronil in farm animals to control tick infestations (EU, 2017). However, in Brazil, the use of fipronil is allowed for crop protection against some pests (ANVISA, 2020) and for tick control (KLAFKE et al, 2017;NASCIMENTO et al, 2021;RECK et al 2014). This is an issue of major concern because European Union (a very important market for Brazilian beef) could ban beef and milk from countries when the use of this drug is allowed.…”