Prevalence, effects and alternative control methods of Haemonchus contortus in small ruminants: A review

Abstract

Small ruminants farming is a traditional activity mostly practiced by local populations in developing countries since several centuries. Nowadays, due to many biotic and climatic factors, it faces various problems which damage smallholders' income especially those related to gastrointestinal parasites. In opposite to the chemical drugs use in controlling those parasites, medicinal plants have been investigated with fewer side effects on both the meat quality and the environment. This current study aimed at reviewing Haemonchus contortus prevalence in small ruminants across the world and present medicinal plants that have been investigated in the last decades. H. contortus is identified as the most significant nematode parasite in small ruminants due to its high prevalence reported by many studies. Its presence in small ruminants results in a loss of feed absorption and disturbance of nutrient metabolism, which lead to poor performance and significant economic loss in the herds, especially in rural areas of developing countries. For the past decades, its control was mainly based on the use of chemical anthelmintics; whose use has been limited due to several factors like the irrational and misuse. Recently, the use of medicinal plants has been identified as alternatives methods of its control with conclusive results. Parts of plants or the whole plants of several plant species were reported to be relevant to control H. contortus infection in small ruminants such as:

Bioactive compounds from the parasitic plant Arceuthobium vaginatum inhibit Haemonchus contortus egg hatching

“…Small ruminant nematodiasis is one of the major diseases that affecting the productivity of farms under grazing conditions causing economic losses ( Zajac & Garza, 2020 ). Haemonchus contortus is a gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) considered one of the most pathogenic parasites due to its hematophagous habit and its high prevalence in sheep and goats ( Kuiseu et al ., 2021 ). The main approach for controlling the GIN including H. contortus is through chemical drugs and their irrational use has trigged an anthelmintic resistance problem worldwide ( Herrera-Manzanilla et al, 2017 ; Baudinette et al, 2022 ).…”

In vitro anthelmintic activity of Chaetomorpha vieillardii ethanolic extract against adult worm motility and egg-hatching of Haemonchus contortus from sheep

“…One of the gastrointestinal tract disturbances is caused by nematodes that grow, reproduce, and suck the blood of their host animals on the mucosal membrane of the gastrointestinal tract, from the stomach (abomasum) to the intestine. Parasitic infestation by the nematode Haemonchus contortus, which is specifically found in the abomasum, especially in small ruminants, causes a condition called haemonchosis, which is a parasitic disease that causes anaemia in livestocks, with reduced appetite and body weight, a lack of digestible nutrients, decreased performance and immunity, and can result in animal death, which eventually gives a bad economic impact (Ali et al, 2021;Kuisue et al, 2021;Politi et al, 2021;Adduci et al, 2022).…”

Optimization of resistance to gastrointestinal nematodes in Santa Inês sheep: a genomic selection, machine learning and image analysis approach

“…The adoption of anthelmintic is widely used to reduce in-farm GIN infections. However, the indiscriminate use of these compounds has resulted in serious problems of parasite resistance to anthelmintics (Kuiseu et al, 2021;Szewc et al, 2021). In addition, there is a growing demand from consumers to produce chemical-free food and increasing concern about animal welfare (Aboshady et al, 2020).…”

“…The primary cause of GIN is the highly pathogenic parasite Haemonchus contortus, which results in significant economic losses due to decreased productivity and animal death, as well as expenses related to the use of anthelmintics for control (ADDUCI et al, 2022). Moreover, the overuse of anthelmintics has resulted in the development of parasite resistance (KUISEU et al, 2021;SZEWC et al, 2021).…”

“…The most commonly used methods to control this gastrointestinal parasite are based on the use of anthelmintics (Szewc et al, 2021). However, parasite resistance to anthelmintics has escalated to such an extent that new strategies are urgently required to address this problem (Kuiseu et al, 2021).…”