Perceptions and attitudes to sustainable roundworm control by European sheep farmers

Trabajo presentado al: 28th International Conference of the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology (WAAVP). Dublín. 19-22 julio. Virtual meeting

Dermacentor reticulatus: a vector on the rise

Dermacentor reticulatus is a hard tick species with extraordinary biological features. It has a high reproduction rate, a rapid developmental cycle, and is also able to overcome years of unfavourable conditions. Dermacentor reticulatus can survive under water for several months and is cold-hardy even compared to other tick species. It has a wide host range: over 60 different wild and domesticated hosts are known for the three active developmental stages. Its high adaptiveness gives an edge to this tick species as shown by new data on the emergence and establishment of D. reticulatus populations throughout Europe. The tick has been the research focus of a growing number of scientists, physicians and veterinarians. Within the Web of Science database, more than a fifth of the over 700 items published on this species between 1897 and 2015 appeared in the last three years (2013–2015). Here we attempt to synthesize current knowledge on the systematics, ecology, geographical distribution and recent spread of the species and to highlight the great spectrum of possible veterinary and public health threats it poses. Canine babesiosis caused by Babesia canis is a severe leading canine vector-borne disease in many endemic areas. Although less frequently than Ixodes ricinus, D. reticulatus adults bite humans and transmit several Rickettsia spp., Omsk haemorrhagic fever virus or Tick-borne encephalitis virus. We have not solely collected and reviewed the latest and fundamental scientific papers available in primary databases but also widened our scope to books, theses, conference papers and specialists colleagues’ experience where needed. Besides the dominant literature available in English, we also tried to access scientific literature in German, Russian and eastern European languages as well. We hope to inspire future research projects that are necessary to understand the basic life-cycle and ecology of this vector in order to understand and prevent disease threats. We conclude that although great strides have been made in our knowledge of the eco-epidemiology of this species, several gaps still need to be filled with basic research, targeting possible reservoir and vector roles and the key factors resulting in the observed geographical spread of D. reticulatus. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-016-1599-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Nematode parasitism of adult dairy cattle in Belgium

Over a period of 1 year, from November 1997 to October 1998, the abomasa, blood and faecal samples of 121 dairy cows in Belgium were collected and examined for nematode infections. Nematodes were present in the abomasa of 110 animals. Ostertagia was found in all 110, Trichostrongylus was seen in 65 and Haemonchus in 14 abomasa. Overall, 91% of all trichostrongyles recovered were Ostertagia. The geometric mean total number of Ostertagia was 2750, with an average of 74% inhibited early fourth stage larvae (EL4). Between November and February >90% of the Ostertagia worm burden were EL4 stages. The majority of the animals (56%) harboured a low Ostertagia burden (100-5000) and 15% had a high burden (>10,000). Sixty-four percent of the coprocultures were positive and the genera recovered were Ostertagia sp. (100%), Trichostrongylus sp. (42%), Oesophagostomum (32%), Haemonchus sp. (29%) and Cooperia sp. (16%). A seasonal pattern was evident for serum Ostertagia-specific antibodies and for serum pepsinogen concentration, with the highest levels during the summer, and low values during the winter. Dictyocaulus viviparus specific antibodies were detected in the serum of eight (7%) animals