Cyathostomins Flashcards
Which parasite is the horse equivalent of Teladorsagia in sheep and Ostertagia in cattle?
Cyathostomin spp
Where do the parasitic stages of Cyathostomins live in the horse?
Large intestine
Cyathostomins are a common parasite of horses of which age?
More than one year old
The eggs of Cyathostomin spp are what size?
80-100um
What are some features of the Cyathostomin spp life cycle?
- Direct
- Non-migratory – parasite stays within the GI tract
- Infective stage is L3
What are the 3 further defined stages of the Cyathostomin spp lifecycle within the host?
Within the large intestinal mucosa the parasites stages have been further defined
- EL3 = Early L3
- LL3 = Late L3
- DL4 = Developing L4
How are the stages of Cyathostomin visualised under magnification?
- Early third stage in the mucosa (EL3) have to be digested out of the mucosa to be visible under x40 magnification
- Developing fourth stage in the mucosa (DL4) are visible by transillumination of mucosa at x40 magnification
How long is the ppp of Cyathostomin spp?
6-8 weeks
Total length of Cyathostomin worms ranges from ?
0.5-1cm
Describe hypobiosis of Cyathostomin spp
- Inhibited larvae may constitute >70% of total worm burden in autumn/winter in UK
- Complex process of arrested development and reactivation not well understood
Which factors may contribute to the occurrence of hypobiosis?
- Cold conditioning
- Heavy parasite burden
- Age - young horses have higher mucosal burden
What is the drug of choice to treat mucosal-stage larvae (including hypobiosed larvae).
Moxidectin
Describe the features of disease with Cyathostomin
- Larval cyathostominosis
- Occurs when large numbers of mucosal-stage larvae (L3, L4) build-up in the mucosa of large intestine
- Mass emergence of mucosal-stage hypobiosed larvae
- 50% fatality rate
What are the clinical signs of Cyathostomin infection?
- Sudden onset diarrhoea/ weight loss
- Sudden weight loss/oedema
- Acute diarrhoea, weight loss and collapse
- Colic
What are 3 predisposing factors for Cyathostomin infection?
- Age (≤5yrs)
- High stocking density
- History of poor parasite control