Evaluation of the effectiveness of Duddingtonia flagrans and Monacrosporium thaumasium in the biological control of gastrointestinal nematodes in female bovines bred in the semiarid region.
Brazil has a herd of 212 million cattle and 171 million hectares of pastures that produce approximately 96 % of Brazilian beef. The Brazilian production system enables animal infection by endoparasites, which are considered one of the main obstacles for the development of this industry and are responsible for considerable economic losses. The control of parasitic diseases is performed via the administration of antiparasitic drugs, but they leave residues of the products in the treated animal, affect non-target organisms and select resistant strains of the parasites. The species D. flagrans and M. thaumasium are promising and sustainable alternatives for controlling gastrointestinal helminths of ruminants and other herbivores. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of isolates of these species, formulated in a sodium alginate matrix and administered twice a week, to reduce the number of environmental infective larvae of gastrointestinal nematodes that affect prepubescent zebu females. The treated animals presented fewer eggs and a lower number of infective larvae per gram of faeces (p < 0.05). The pastures occupied by treated animals showed a statistically significant reduction (p < 0.05) of the number of L3 and, furthermore, the genera Cooperia sp., Haemonchus sp., and Oesophagostomum sp. were the most prevalent. The average weight of the animals did not differ statistically (p > 0.05) among the treated and control groups. The use of sodium alginate pellets as vehicle for delivery of the fungus mycelia D. flagrans (isolate AC001) and M. thaumasium (isolate NF34A) proved effective in controlling trichostrongylids in prepubescent cows bred in the semi-arid region, with an effective reduction in the number of infective larvae in the pastures.
Departamento de Veterinária, UFV, Vicosa, MG, Brasil.
Manoel Eduardo da
ME
Silva
Fabio Ribeiro
FR
Braga
Luana Alcântara
LA
Borges
Jair Mendes de
JM
Oliveira
Walter dos Santos
Wdos S
Lima
Marcos Pezzi
MP
Guimarães
Jackson Victor de
JV
Araújo
D000818:Animals; D001203:Ascomycota / Q000502:physiology*; D001938:Brazil; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000628:therapy; D059586:Duddingtonia / Q000502:physiology*; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000628:therapy / Q000662:veterinary*; D009348:Nematoda / Q000382:microbiology; D009349:Nematode Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000628:therapy / Q000662:veterinary*; D010572:Pest Control, Biological / Q000592:standards