TAPEWORM ASSOCIATED COLIC... IS YOUR HORSE AT RISK?
| TAPEWORM-ASSOCIATED COLIC... IS YOUR HORSE AT RISK? Colic, or by definition ‘a pain in the belly' can strike any horse at any time, and is the main cause of death in horses1. Tapeworm-associated colic:
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The equine tapeworm
Three species of equine tapeworm infect horses: Anoplocephala perfoliata, Anoplocephaloides mamillana and Anoplocephala magna. However the latter two species are rare in the UK and rarely cause disease. It is only the species A. perfoliata that has been proven to be associated with causing colic.
Tapeworm-related health problems
Besides causing colic, equine tapeworms are also responsible for a number of health problems in horses ranging from loss of performance and hair loss to diarrhoea and painful, potentially fatal perforation of the intestine.
So what about colic, what are the risks to a horse infected with tapeworm? Research has shown that 81% of ileal impaction cases and 22% of spasmodic colic cases can be tapeworm related2.
So what are the actual risks of a horse-developing tapeworm-associated colic? The startling facts are that a horse infected with tapeworm is 26 times more likely to develop ileal impaction colic than a non-infected horse, and 8 times more likely to experience spasmodic colic3.
Risk of tapeworm-associated colic
Experts estimate that equine tapeworm infections are being under-diagnosed, and with horses being regularly wormed against roundworm, tapeworm numbers are increasing through lack of competition within the horse.
Infection by equine tapeworm
Horses are infected by equine tapeworm through the ingestion of oribatid (forage) mites - the intermediate host of the equine tapeworm. Found on all pasture-land, as well as in hay, bedding and feed, there is no practical way in controlling these tiny but numerous mites.
| Lifecycle of the equine tapeworm The lifecycle starts with the adult tapeworm shedding egg-containing segments in the horse's droppings. These tapeworm eggs can survive on the pasture for 9 months. Eaten by the oribatid mites, the eggs develop within the mite into infective immature tapeworm [cysticercoids] within 2-4 months. After ingestion of the mites, the immature tapeworm take 6-10 weeks to develop into mature worms, and within a few months the next generation of adult worms release egg-laden segments in the horse's droppings... and the cycle starts all over again. |
The problem of tapeworm diagnosis
Unfortunately, due to the sporadic release of tapeworm eggs, faecal egg counts are unreliable as tapeworm eggs will not be found in every dropping sample of an infected horse. Blood tests for tapeworm antibodies are more reliable; however, they are not 100% effective as they cannot differentiate between no and low infections. There is also a potential for false positive results, as they may not reflect an effective recent treatment.
Management of tapeworm infections
Tapeworm infection shows no strong seasonality; however, exposure is greater during periods of prolonged grazing. Therefore, treatment should be undertaken in the autumn following summer turnout on pasture3, with treatment thereafter recommended every 6 months7.
Traditionally, treatment for tapeworm involved a double-dose of a pyrantel-based wormer, but in more recent years, praziquantel based (e.g. EQUEST PRAMOX) wormers have become available, offering single dose tapeworm control.
This article has been reproduced by kind permission of http://www.wormingyourhorse.info/
Copyright: Fort Dodge
Photograph: The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies
Added on: 07/07/08. Views: 271
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