RT Journal Article
T1 Helminth infections on organic dairy farms in Spain
A1 Orjales Galdo, Inmaculada
A1 Mezo, Mercedes
A1 Miranda Castañón, Marta Inés
A1 González-Warletta, Marta
A1 Rey-Crespo, Francisco
A1 Vaarst, Mette
A1 Thamsborg, Stig
A1 Diéguez Casalta, Javier
A1 Castro Hermida, José Antonio
A1 López Alonso, María Marta
K1 Cattle
K1 Grazing
K1 Organic milk production
K1 Helminth infections
AB The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of the major helminth infections affecting organic dairy cattle in northern Spain. Milk and faecal samples were obtained from 443 milking cows. Ostertagia ostertargi and Fasciola hepatica exposure was assessed by detection of specific antibodies in milk samples and F. hepatica infection was diagnosed by the detection of coproantigens in faecal samples. Dictyocaulus viviparus and Calicophoron daubneyi infections were diagnosed by conventional coprological techniques. The prevalence of infections caused by F. hepatica was considerable low, but similar to data reported from conventional farming in the same area. The prevalence rate of C. daubneyi infection was higher than previous data mirroring an increase of the prevalence that was also reported in other European countries in recent years. Specific antibodies against O. ostertargi were detected in all herds and the median levels of antibodies, determined by ELISA, exceeded the thresholds indicating milk production losses. The prevalence of D. viviparus was almost negligible. For each parasite, an ordinal logistic-regression analysis was used to assess the risk of infection by taking into account the administration of effective anthelmintics and the number of lactations. Treatment of cows with fasciolicides decreased the risk of F. hepatica infection in multiparous cows, whereas treatment with oxiclozanide or albendazol did not decrease the risk of C. daubneyi infection or O. ostertargi exposure, respectively. The study findings demonstrate that helminth infection in organic dairy farming is similar or even lower than previous data reported from conventional farming. Special attention should be paid to the impact of these infections on milk production.
PB Elservier
SN 1873-2550
YR 2017
FD 2017-08-30
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/38408
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/38408
LA eng
NO I. Orjales, M. Mezo, M. Miranda, M. González-Warleta, F. Rey-Crespo, M. Vaarst, S. Thamsborg, F.J. Diéguez, J.A. Castro-Hermida, M. López-Alonso, Helminth infections on organic dairy farms in Spain, Veterinary Parasitology, Volume 243, 2017, Pages 115-118, ISSN 0304-4017, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetpar.2017.06.031.
NO This work was supported by the Spanish Government (AGL2010-21026). Inmaculada Orjales is in receipt of a FPU fellowship (Ref. FPU14/01473) from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports. This study was possible due to a research stay in Aarhus University supported by Barrié de la Maza Foundation (predoctoral grant). The authors thank all farmers who participated in the study.
DS Minerva
RD 22 abr 2026