Strongylus vulgaris (Looss, 1900) in horses in Italy: Is it still a problem?

Pilo, Cristian; Altea, Antonella; Pirino, Salvatore; Nicolussi, Paola; Varcasia, Antonio; Genchi, Marco; Scala, Antonio

doi:10.1016/j.vetpar.2011.09.016

Cited by 25 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…All the feral horses were infected with Strongylus with high worm burden (500-1600 EPG). Strongylus is the most common and most damaging parasite of horses worldwide (Reinemeyer et al, 1984;Bucknell et al, 1995;Pilo et al, 2012;Flanagan et al, 2013). It is a highly pathogenic parasite.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Absence of Strongylus infections in domesticated horses could be due to effectiveness of antihelminthics given to them. Among the Strongylus species S. vulgaris is the most prevalent and most pathogenic species that infect horses (Lyons et al, 2012;Pilo et al, 2012;Rehbein et al, 2012). Adult worms live in the caecum and right ventral colon.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fourth and fifth stage larvae are responsible for arthritis, necrosis, and fibrosis of infected horses. Alterations in blood parameters and blood chemistry have been observed in horses infected with S. vulgaris (Pilo et al, 2012;Flanagan et al, 2013). Horses can die from a severe infection.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Faecal analyses are becoming increasingly important for equine establishments as a means of parasite surveillance and detection of anthelmintic resistance. For example, the prevalence of large strongyles has increased in horses since the 1980s in areas where broad spectrum anthelmintics have been frequently used (Pilo et al, 2012). Reduced use of these broad scale chemicals helps to prolong their efficacy against parasites and it also lower the cost to maintaining equines (Himmelstierna, 2012;Flanagan et al, 2013) Except for Giardia infection which was absent in domesticated horses, other two protozoans were present at moderate infection of other protozoans recorded in the study do not cause severe damage to the horses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Gastrointestinal parasites of domesticated and Feral Horses (Equus Caballus) in Sri Lanka

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Horses are not native to Sri Lanka. They are imported from neighbouring countries to be used for police work, sporting or riding and esthetic purposes. An isolated population of about 500 feral horses lives in the Delft Island in northern Sri Lanka. These feral horses served hundred years for western conquests and when they left Sri Lanka, horses were left behind in the Delft Island. There are no records of gastrointestinal (GI) parasites of horses in Sri Lanka and the present study was carried out to determine the GI parasites in the domesticated (free grazing and stabled) and feral horses. Fresh faecal samples were collected from horses and analysed qualitatively and quantitatively to determine the types of GI parasites and their prevalence and intensity. Qualitative analyses using direct saline and iodine mounts, simple test tube flotation, Sheather's modified sucrose flotation and sedimentation technique were carried out followed by McMaster counting technique for the positive samples. Identification of parasites involved morphological, morphometric and molecular methods. A total of 73 horses were sampled. All the feral horses (n=14) were infected. Among the domesticated horses, free grazers had a significantly higher prevalence of GI infections (46.7%) than the stabled ones (18.2%; Chi square test χ 2 = 4.787, df = 1, p = 0.029). There was no significant difference between helminth and protozoan infections among the three groups of horses (Chi square test, χ 2 = 1.453, df = 2, p = 0.484). Six species of parasites: Anoplocephala sp., Parascaris equorum, Strongylus sp. Isospora sp. Entamoeba sp. and Giardia sp. were recorded. Strongylus infections were recorded in all the feral horses with a high intensity but not in any of the domesticated animals. Strongylus is a highly pathogenic and the most damaging parasite of horses worldwide. It is important to investigate whether Strongylus infection is responsible for the high mortality recorded in the feral horses in the Delft Island especially because the Department of Wildlife Conservation is to declare Delft Island a National Park to conserve the feral horses.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Gastrointestinal parasites of domesticated and Feral Horses (Equus Caballus) in Sri Lanka

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In an investigation of horses from Poland by necropsy, nematodes were isolated from the intestine and differentiated revealing a prevalence of 22.8% (165/725) for S. vulgaris [43]. An even higher prevalence of 41.3% (19/46) was detected in horses from Sardinia, Italy, via larval culture [44]. In comparison with data from Germany, Bracken et al [45] found a higher prevalence of infection with S. vulgaris in Danish horses not only on the horse level with 13.6% (45/331) but also on the farm level with 72.2% (13/18).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection of Strongylus vulgaris in equine faecal samples by real-time PCR and larval culture – method comparison and occurrence assessment

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Strongylus vulgaris has become a rare parasite in Germany during the past 50 years due to the practice of frequent prophylactic anthelmintic therapy. To date, the emerging development of resistance in Cyathostominae and Parascaris spp. to numerous equine anthelmintics has changed deworming management and the frequency of anthelmintic usage. In this regard, reliable detection of parasitic infections, especially of the highly pathogenic S. vulgaris is essential. In the current study, two diagnostic methods for the detection of infections with S. vulgaris were compared and information on the occurrence of this parasite in German horses was gained. For this purpose, faecal samples of 501 horses were screened for S. vulgaris with real-time PCR and an additional larval culture was performed in samples of 278 horses. A subset of 26 horses underwent multiple follow-up examinations with both methods in order to evaluate both the persistence of S. vulgaris infections and the reproducibility of each diagnostic method.ResultsThe real-time PCR revealed S. vulgaris-DNA in ten of 501 investigated equine samples (1.9%). The larval culture demonstrated larvae of S. vulgaris in three of the 278 samples (1.1%). A direct comparison of the two methods was possible in 321 samples including 43 follow-up examinations with the result of 11 S. vulgaris-positive samples by real-time PCR and 4 S. vulgaris-positive samples by larval culture. The McNemar’s test (p-value = 0.016) revealed a significant difference and the kappa values (0.525) showed a moderate agreement between real-time PCR and larval culture.ConclusionsThe real-time PCR detected a significantly higher proportion of positives of S. vulgaris compared to larval culture and should thus be considered as a routine diagnostic method for the detection of S. vulgaris in equine samples.

show abstract

Head tilt, circling, nystagmus, and other signs of vestibular dysfunction

2022

Large Animal Neurology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Strongylus vulgaris (Looss, 1900) in horses in Italy: Is it still a problem?

Cited by 25 publications

References 19 publications

Gastrointestinal parasites of domesticated and Feral Horses (Equus Caballus) in Sri Lanka

Gastrointestinal parasites of domesticated and Feral Horses (Equus Caballus) in Sri Lanka

Detection of Strongylus vulgaris in equine faecal samples by real-time PCR and larval culture – method comparison and occurrence assessment

Head tilt, circling, nystagmus, and other signs of vestibular dysfunction

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About