The development of anthelmintic resistance in ruminant livestock

doi:10.1016/0001-706X(94)90065-5

Acta Tropica

Volume 56, Issues 2–3, March 1994, Pages 233-243

https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-706X(94)90065-5 Get rights and content

Abstract

Despite the enormous advances over the last 50 years in the chemotherapeutic control of nematode parasites, the economic importance of these parasites to the grazing livestock industries remains as great as ever. Added to this, the emergence and rapid development of resistance to the new broad spectrum anthelmintics in the important nematode species now looms large as a major international threat. This particularly is of concern to the sheep industry, especially in the major sheep-raising countries of the Southern Hemisphere, but there are clear signs that the problem in Western Europe and North America is rapidly escalating. Resistance is also a serious concern in the intensive goat industry, but at present appears to occur only on isolated, individual cattle properties. To obtain a perspective of the development of anthelmintic resistance in relation to husbandry practices, this review focuses on the problem in the sheep industry in relation to its development, detection and management.

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Citation Excerpt :
The developing global picture of anthelmintic resistance over the last 40 years has been described in a series of review articles, with the resistance being particularly prevalent in the sheep industry in the Southern Hemisphere (Prichard, 1990; Waller, 1994, 1997). Waller (1994) highlighted that ‘the emergence and rapid development of resistance to the new broad spectrum anthelmintics in the important nematode species now looms large as a major international threat’ (Waller, 1994). By 2004, multidrug-resistant worm populations, showing resistance to benzimidazoles (BZs), macrocyclic lactones (MLs) and levamisole) had been reported in sheep and goat parasites (H. contortus, T. colubriformis, and T. circumcincta) in many regions of the world, particularly in South America, South Africa and southeastern USA (Kaplan, 2004).
This review article provides an historical perspective on some of the major research advances of relevance to ruminant livestock gastrointestinal nematode control over the last 50 years. Over this period, gastrointestinal nematode control has been dominated by the use of broad-spectrum anthelmintic drugs. Whilst this has provided unprecedented levels of successful control for many years, this approach has been gradually breaking down for more than two decades and is increasingly unsustainable which is due, at least in part, to the emergence of anthelmintic drug resistance and a number of other factors discussed in this article. We first cover the remarkable success story of the discovery and development of broad-spectrum anthelmintic drugs, the changing face of anthelmintic drug discovery research and the emergence of anthelmintic resistance. This is followed by a review of some of the major advances in the increasingly important area of non-pharmaceutical gastrointestinal nematode control including immunology and vaccine development, epidemiological modelling and some of the alternative control strategies such as breeding for host resistance, refugia-based methods and biological control. The last 50 years have witnessed remarkable innovation and success in research aiming to improve ruminant livestock gastrointestinal nematode control, particularly given the relatively small size of the research community and limited funding. In spite of this, the growing global demand for livestock products, together with the need to maximise production efficiencies, reduce environmental impacts and safeguard animal welfare – as well as specific challenges such as anthelmintic drug resistance and climate change– mean that gastrointestinal nematode researchers will need to be as innovative in the next 50 years as in the last.
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Antiparasitics acting on endo- or ectoparasites represent the second largest segment of the global animal health market, accounting for 23% of market share. However, relatively few novel antiparasitic agents have been introduced into the market during recent decades. One exception, and a groundbreaking 21st century success story, are the isoxazolines, whose full potential has not yet been entirely explored. Unfortunately, resistance issues are present across most parasitic diseases, which generates a clear market need for novel resistance-breaking antiparasitics with new modes/mechanisms of action. Recent advances in science and technologies strongly suggest that the time is right to invest in new modalities such as parasitic vaccines or in environmentally friendly interventions.
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Our objective was to determine whether parasite resistance to extended-release eprinomectin was present in an operation after 3 yr of eprinomectin use.
Fall-born Angus × Simmental heifers (224 ± 22 d of age; 171 ± 17.8 kg initial BW) were stratified by d −2 fecal egg count (FEC) and BW and assigned to 1 of 9 groups (7 heifers per group). Groups were then assigned to 1 of 3 treatments: extended-release eprinomectin (ERE; n = 3), extended-release eprinomectin and oxfendazole (ERE+O; n = 3), or saline control (CON; n = 3). Throughout the experiment, FEC and packed cell volume were evaluated 6 times, and a fecal egg reduction test was conducted on d 28.
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The development of anthelmintic resistance in ruminant livestock

Abstract

Vet. Parasitol.

Int. J. Parasitol.

Vet. Parasitol.

Vet. Parasitol.

Vet. Parasitol.

Int. J. Parasitol.

Acta Trop.

Vet. Parasitol.

Int. J. Parasitol.

Vet. Parasitol.

Vet. Parasitol.

Vet. Parasitol.

Anthelmintic Resistance

Report of the Working Party for the Animal Health Committee of the Standing Committee on Agriculture

SCA Technical Report Series, No. 28

FAO Production Yearbook

Resistance of Parasites to Antiparasitic Drugs

Anthelmintic resistance in gastrointestinal nematodes of herbivorous animals in Europe

Helminth control strategies and anthelmintics

Recommendations to minimise selection for anthelmintic resistance in nematode control programmes

Anthelmintic resistance in relation to helminth and grazing systems

Field studies on parasite control of sheep: Comparison of thiabendazole, ruelene and phenothiazine

Am. J. Vet. Res.

Reasons for worm control breakdown

Epidemiological approach to the control of horse strongyles

Equine Vet. J.