Practical guide to the diagnostics of ruminant gastrointestinal nematodes, liver fluke and lungworm infection: interpretation and usability of results

Abstract

The diagnostics of ruminant parasites remains one of the cornerstones for parasite control best practices. Field veterinarians have several techniques at their disposal (fecal egg count, coproculture, FAMACHA®, plasma pepsinogen, ELISA-Ostertagia, ELISA-Fasciola, Baermann and ELISA-Lungworm) for the identification and/or quantification of gastrointestinal nematodes, lungworms and liver fluke infecting small ruminants and cattle. Each of these diagnostic tools has its own strengths and weaknesses and is more appropriate for a specific production operation and/or age of the animal (young and adults). This review focuses on the usability and interpretation of the results of these diagnostic tools. The most advanced technical information on sampling, storage, advantages and limitations of each tool for different types of production operations and animal categories is provided. Graphical abstract

Laboratory diagnosis of gastrointestinal nematodes in first‐grazing‐season cattle

“…FEC is widely available and inexpensive but has some limitations 7 . Results and repeatability may vary because of methodological differences and sample consistency.…”

“…FEC is widely available and inexpensive but has some limitations. 7 Results and repeatability may vary because of methodological differences and sample consistency. Parasite egg production is not correlated with pathogenicity, with a mean production of 284 eggs/day reported for the more pathogenic O ostertagi, 8 compared to 2744 eggs/day for the less pathogenic C oncophora.…”

“…In short, therefore, the use of FEC alone to understand magnitude or significance of GIN burden is challenging in cattle, except during the early weeks of the first grazing season 7 …”

Anaemia in South American camelids – an overview of clinical and laboratory diagnostics

“…Score 1 corresponds to a physiological red colouration of the conjunctiva, score 5 to almost white conjunctiva. The FAMACHA© score is established worldwide in the herd management of small ruminants (Naeem et al 2021 ; Sabatini et al 2023 ).…”

Biomarkers of Gastrointestinal Nematodes in Beef Cattle Raised in a Tropical Area

“…The diagnosis of helminth infection is based on the fecal egg count (FEC), which is used for monitoring the disease, testing the e cacy of anthelmintics and as a parameter for assessing environmental contamination caused by GINs (Sabatini et al, 2023). However, if the aim is to de ne control measures, FEC must be combined with the fecal culture, animal category, history of treatment, management, weight gain and climatic conditions, as considering FEC alone increases the risk of de ning inappropriate actions (Sabatini et al, 2023).…”