Worm control in Hungary

For some time now, experts have advocated a targeted or strategic approach to worm control, rather than relying on treatment at regular intervals, because of the growing threat of anthelmintic resistance. 

 

A traditional approach to equine parasite control, involving rotating anthelmintic treatments at regular intervals, is still widely used in Hungary, according to a recent report. Almost no farms utilize faecal egg counts (FECs) on a regular basis to guide deworming treatments. 

 

Kinga Joó and her co-workers conducted a study to investigate risk factors associated with strongylid egg counts.The work is reported in Veterinary Parasitology: Regional Studies and Reports.

 

The research team collected faecal samples from 216 sport and pleasure horses, kept on 13 farms in Hungary. The horses ranged from 5 months to 30 years of age, and had last received anthelmintic (dewormer) treatment at least 60 days previously.

 

None of the farms involved in the study had previously used FECs to guide deworming treatments on a regular basis. 

 

Analysis of the results showed:

• most of the faecal worm egg production was due to a limited number of horses. Only 22% of horses were responsible for 80% of the total strongyle egg output. This is in line with findings of other studies.

• young horses (less than 5 years of age) had significantly higher FECs than horses 5–17 years old and those aged over 17 years.

• horses treated with benzimidazoles (eg fenbendazole) at least once a year had significantly higher FECs than equids that had not received benzimidazoles.

• horses kept at very high stocking densities (>30 horses/ha) had significantly higher EPG-values than horses kept at lower stocking densities.

 

They conclude “the results demonstrate the value of FEC monitoring and indicate that the efficacy of benzimidazoles should be investigated in Hungary. Moreover, our findings demonstrate that reducing stocking density should be considered in cases of high strongylid FECs.”

 

 

For more details, see:

 

Evaluation of risk factors affecting strongylid egg shedding on Hungarian horse farms

Kinga Joó, Roxána L Trúzsi, Csenge Zs Kálmán, Virág Ács, Szilárd Jakab, András Bába, Martin K Nielsen.

Vet Parasitol Reg Stud Reports (2022) 27:100663

doi: 10.1016/j.vprsr.2021.100663