Gastrointestinal Strongyles Egg Excretion in Relation to Age, Gender, and Management of Horses in Italy
Abstract
:Simple Summary
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Animals
- (a)
- age, sex, breed, and stable;
- (b)
- environment, period of the season when sampling occurred, and geographical area of the stable;
- (c)
- management: individual stable only and/or with outdoor access or exclusively outdoors without night shelter; equestrian discipline; and, finally, treatments against parasites performed in the previous six months prior to the sampling time.
2.2. Coprological Analysis
- (1)
- <200 EPG, low infestation;
- (2)
- between >200 and 500 EPG, mild infestation;
- (3)
- between >500 and 600 EPG, moderate infestation;
- (4)
- between >600 and 1000 EPG high infestation;
- (5)
- >1000 EPG, severe infestation.
2.3. Coprocultures
2.4. Statistical Analysis
2.5. Ethical Statement
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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EPG Classes | EPG Values | Horses | Prevalence |
---|---|---|---|
0 | 0 | 4169 | 60.5% |
1 | <200 EPG | 1249 | 18.1% |
2 | >200 ≤ 500 EPG | 514 | 7.4% |
3 | >500 ≤ 600 EPG | 115 | 1.7% |
4 | >600 ≤ 1000 EPG | 299 | 4.3% |
5 | >1000 EPG | 550 | 8.0% |
Elaboration | Seasons | Sex (Data Available for 5137 Horses) | Zone | Type of Breeding (Data Available for 5696 Horses) | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Summer | Autumn | Winter | Spring | Male | Female | Northern Italy | Central Italy | Southern Italy and Islands | Indoor | Outdoor | In/ Outdoor | |
Examined | 1230 | 1646 | 1937 | 2083 | 2771 | 2366 | 4118 | 1878 | 900 | 2,383 | 949 | 2364 |
Prevalence % | 33.8 | 37.6 | 43.1 | 41.2 | 35.8 | 40.2 | 37.4 | 46.3 | 35.2 | 33.7 | 49.7 | 39.2 |
EPG Mean | 211.5 | 217.8 | 250.1 | 282.4 | 207.41 | 258.11 | 226.7 | 284.1 | 249.1 | 172.1 | 369.7 | 248.9 |
MI * EPG | 625.2 | 579.2 | 580.9 | 685.7 | 580 | 642.16 | 606.3 | 383.3 | 712.0 | 510.9 | 743.4 | 634.8 |
Odds Ratio (OR) | 1.00 | 1.18 | 1.48 | 1.37 | 1.00 | 1.05 | 1.00 | 1.44 | 0.91 | 1.00 | 1.95 | 1.27 |
Age Groups | Examined | Prevalence % | Odds Ratio | EPG Mean | Standard Deviation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
<1 year | 128 | 49.2 | 1.00 | 345.4 | 803.3 |
1 year | 365 | 55.1 | 1.26 | 632.2 | 1156.0 |
2–4 years | 985 | 53.1 | 1.17 | 383.3 | 774.9 |
5–14 years | 2506 | 34.8 | 0.55 | 140.8 | 411.4 |
15–21 years | 847 | 27.5 | 0.39 | 143.2 | 435.2 |
>22 years | 246 | 32.1 | 0.49 | 209.5 | 611.7 |
Breed | Examined Horses | Prevalence % | ≤500 EPG % | >500 EPG % | Odds Ratio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
English Thoroughbred | 332 | 45.2 | 29.5 | 15.7 | 1.00 |
Arabian Thoroughbred | 212 | 37.3 | 26.9 | 10.4 | 0.524 |
Half-breed horses | 34 | 44.1 | 23.5 | 20.6 | 0.958 |
Trotter | 906 | 49.0 | 29.9 | 19.1 | 1.166 |
American Breed | 555 | 45.8 | 28.3 | 17.5 | 1.024 |
South-American Breed | 18 | 55.5 | 27.8 | 27.8 | 1.517 |
Spanish Breed | 31 | 16.1 | 12.9 | 3.2 | 0.233 |
Italian Breed | 84 | 63.0 | 39.3 | 23.8 | 2.074 |
Jumping | 2014 | 31.3 | 21.4 | 9.9 | 0.554 |
Ponies | 237 | 47.3 | 32.1 | 15.2 | 1.087 |
Parasites Species | % Recovered Larvae | % Positives Stables |
---|---|---|
Cyathostomum spp. | 79.4 | 98.5 |
Strongylus vulgaris | 10.3 | 79.4 |
Trichostrongylus axei | 7.1 | 61.8 |
Oesophagodontus spp. | 1.0 | 33.8 |
Triodonthophorus spp. | 0.9 | 13.2 |
Gyalocephalus spp. | 0.5 | 26.5 |
Strongylus equinus | 0.6 | 16.2 |
Strongylus edentatus | 0.2 | 4.4 |
Drugs | Number of Treatment | Prevalence | EPG Mean |
---|---|---|---|
Macrocyclic Lactones (MLs) | 2882 | 32.8% | 188.4 ± 536.8 |
Benzimidazoles (BZs) | 323 | 24.1% | 372.5 ± 910.1 |
Tetrahydropyrimidines (THPs) | 1150 | 43.8% | 262.3 ± 612.6 |
Elmene LX * | 9 | 44.4% | 371.7 ± 661.0 |
Unknown | 104 | 47.1% | 544.0 ± 867.8 |
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Scala, A.; Tamponi, C.; Sanna, G.; Predieri, G.; Dessì, G.; Sedda, G.; Buono, F.; Cappai, M.G.; Veneziano, V.; Varcasia, A. Gastrointestinal Strongyles Egg Excretion in Relation to Age, Gender, and Management of Horses in Italy. Animals 2020, 10, 2283. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10122283
Scala A, Tamponi C, Sanna G, Predieri G, Dessì G, Sedda G, Buono F, Cappai MG, Veneziano V, Varcasia A. Gastrointestinal Strongyles Egg Excretion in Relation to Age, Gender, and Management of Horses in Italy. Animals. 2020; 10(12):2283. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10122283
Chicago/Turabian StyleScala, Antonio, Claudia Tamponi, Giuliana Sanna, Giulio Predieri, Giorgia Dessì, Giampietro Sedda, Francesco Buono, Maria Grazia Cappai, Vincenzo Veneziano, and Antonio Varcasia. 2020. "Gastrointestinal Strongyles Egg Excretion in Relation to Age, Gender, and Management of Horses in Italy" Animals 10, no. 12: 2283. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10122283
APA StyleScala, A., Tamponi, C., Sanna, G., Predieri, G., Dessì, G., Sedda, G., Buono, F., Cappai, M. G., Veneziano, V., & Varcasia, A. (2020). Gastrointestinal Strongyles Egg Excretion in Relation to Age, Gender, and Management of Horses in Italy. Animals, 10(12), 2283. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10122283