Haemonchus contortus-the effect on lambs of prolonged exposure to daily and weekly doses of infective larvae

Abstract

Thirty-five lambs (14 weeks old), the progeny of Border Leicester rams mated with Border Leicester × Merino ewes, were divided at random into two groups. Seventeen lambs in Group A received 3500 Haemonchus contortus larvae weekly and 18 lambs in Group B received 500 larvae each day: the dosage was decreased to 1400 larvae weekly and 200 larvae per day after 8 weeks.Pathogenicity was found to be higher when the lambs were infected with a small number of larvae daily (daily group) than when the same number of larvae were given in one dose at weekly intervals (weekly group). The period of survival was consistently shorter in the former group.No significant difference in faecal egg counts was observed between the two groups.Reduction in food intake per head per day and in live weight were more pronounced in the ‘daily group’ than in group dosed weekly. The discrepancy in food consumption and live weight between these two treatments was more apparent at the end of the experiment.Some resistance was observed in both groups but the level of resistance was not high.Accumulation of inhibited larvae was apparent after 104 days in the ‘weekly group’ and after 78 days in the ‘daily group’. An infection arising from a large number of larvae given at weekly intervals induced a mild form of resistance leading to an accumulation of inhibited larvae at the end of the experiment. This was less apparent in lambs infected with the same number of larvae given each day.Interference with ovulation in adult females was recorded in both treatments. Sex discrimination against the female population both in the extent of elimination of adults and in the retardation of development of fourth-stage larvae was recorded and the intensity of discrimination was more pronounced with the weekly regime of larger doses than with the same number of larvae but given in daily doses. The worms were eliminated sporadically and not continuously. A challenge infection of 10000 larvae given to two lambs in the ‘weekly’ regime treatment on the 107th day initiated a partial selfcure reaction demonstrated by an immediate fall in faecal eggs per gram (i.e. Epg) but the egg count returned to the original value in 28 days.