title: Effect of management interventions on the helminth parasites recovered from donkeys in South Africa.
abstract: The helminth burdens and biodiversity of 9 randomly selected donkeys (Equus asinus) were examined after necropsy. Prior to necropsy, 8 of the animals were subjected to 1 of 3 management interventions (monthly fecal removal, prewinter moxidectin treatment, and a combination of both treatments) or a control for a 16-mo period. The remaining animal was killed earlier in the study. Quantitative samples were collected from the gastrointestinal tract for helminth recovery. The intestinal walls were examined with transmural illumination and thereafter digested with a HCl-peptic method for identification of the mucosal larval stages of cyathostomes. In this study, 37 helminth species belonging to the Ascarididae, Atractidae, Dictyocaulidae. Habronematidae, Onchocercidae, Oxyuridae, Strongylidae, and Trichostrongylidae, 1 cestode species of the Anoplocephalidae, and 1 trematode species in the Paramphistomatidae were recovered. In addition, 1 species of oestrid fly of the Gasterophilidae was identified. The results obtained in the present study support the application of several intervention methods to reduce the helminth burdens in donkeys.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veternary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa.
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matthee
authors.forename: Rosina C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Krecek
authors.forename: Alan J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Guthrie
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000871:Anthelmintics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002432:Cecum / Q000469:parasitology; D003106:Colon; D018397:Equidae / Q000469:parasitology*; D005260:Female; D006374:Helminthiasis, Animal / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000469:parasitology; D006376:Helminths / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007411:Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary; D007814:Larva; D018942:Macrolides; D008297:Male; D009092:Mucous Membrane / Q000469:parasitology; D010270:Parasite Egg Count; D013019:South Africa
chemical_list: D000871:Anthelmintics; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D018942:Macrolides; C027837:moxidectin