Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jul 3;11(1):384.
doi: 10.1186/s13071-018-2965-7.

Evaluating the effectiveness of trematocides against Fasciola gigantica and amphistomes infections in cattle, using faecal egg count reduction tests in Iringa Rural and Arumeru Districts, Tanzania

Jahashi Nzalawahe  1 , Rose Hannah  2 , Ahmed A Kassuku  2 , John R Stothard  3 , Gerald Coles  2 , Mark C Eisler  2
Affiliations

Evaluating the effectiveness of trematocides against Fasciola gigantica and amphistomes infections in cattle, using faecal egg count reduction tests in Iringa Rural and Arumeru Districts, Tanzania

Jahashi Nzalawahe et al. Parasit Vectors. .

Abstract

Background: Fasciolosis, caused by the liver fluke Fasciola gigantica, and paramphistomosis are widespread in cattle in Tanzania, and the use of trematocides is encouraged by the Government livestock extension officers. However, reduced efficacy of oxyclozanide against Fasciola gigantica and amphistomes (rumen flukes), and albendazole against F. gigantica, has been reported in some regions. This study was conducted to assess the efficacy of different trematocides against F. gigantica and amphistome infections in cattle at Iringa Rural and Arumeru Districts.

Methods: Cattle found with concurrent infection of F. gigantica and amphistomes were randomly grouped into six experimental groups. One control group was left untreated while five treatment groups were treated with one of five trematocides that include: albendazole, nitroxynil, oxyclozanide, closantel and triclabendazole. Post-treatment faecal sample collection was done on the day of treatment and again at 7, 14 and 28 days, from each cattle. The samples were processed by Flukefinder® method to recover and identify eggs. Assessment of the efficacy of the trematocides against F. gigantica and amphistomes was conducted using faecal egg count reduction (FECR) tests.

Results: The findings of the present study in both districts indicate that nitroxynil, oxyclozanide, closantel and triclabendazole are effective against patent F. gigantica infection, as the calculated FECR% for each trematocide was 100% by day 14 post-treatment. However, albendazole found to have reduced efficacy of against F. gigantica, as FECR% was 49% in Arumeru District and 89% in Iringa Rural District by day 14 post-treatment. Oxyclozanide was the only trematocide found to be effective against amphistomes with FECR of 99%.

Conclusions: Albendazole had reduced efficacy against F. gigantica in cattle in Arumeru and Iringa Rural Districts, Tanzania. The reduced efficacy was prominent in Arumeru, where cattle are commonly treated with anthelmintics, than in Iringa Rural, where cattle are seldom treated.

Keywords: Amphistomes; Cattle; Efficacy; Fasciola gigantica; Tanzania; Trematocide.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

All work on animals described in this manuscript was conducted in accordance with internationally recognised guidelines and approved by Sokoine University of Agriculture.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

References

    1. Nzalawahe J, Kassuku AA, Stothard JR, Coles GC, Mark EC. Trematode infections in cattle in Arumeru District, Tanzania are associated with irrigation. Parasit Vectors. 2014;7:107. doi: 10.1186/1756-3305-7-107. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Forbes AB, Reddick D, Stear MJ. Efficacy of treatment of cattle for liver fluke at housing: influence of differences in flukicidal activity against juvenile Fasciola hepatica. Vet Rec. 2015;176:333. doi: 10.1136/vr.102720. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Phillips GD, Hungate RE, MacGregor A, Hungate DP. Experiments on rumen retention time, fermentation rate and dry-matter digestibility in zebu and European-type cattle on a grass hay ration. J Agric Sci. 2009;54:417.
    1. Islam A. Comparative efficacy of ivermectin plus clorsulon and nitroxynil against naturally infected cattle. Eurasian J Vet Sci. 2013;29:43–45.
    1. Mooney L, Good B, Hanrahan JP, Mulcahy G, de Waal T. The comparative efficacy of four anthelmintics against a natural acquired Fasciola hepatica infection in hill sheep flock in the west of Ireland. Vet Parasitol. 2009;164:201–205. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2009.05.017. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources