Ruminant dictyocaulosis: symptoms and diagnosis, treatment and prevention

Helminthiases are common diseases that cause significant harm to cattle and other farm animals. Especially a lot of troubles can be expected from dictyocaulosis of ruminants - a helminthic invasion that affects the respiratory tract - bronchi and lungs of victims. Due to the infection with worms, animals develop slowly, enter puberty late, reproduce poorly and die early.

What is this disease

Ruminant dictyocaulosis is a type of helminthiasis provoked by penetration into the lungs, trachea and bronchi of animals of nematodes of two varieties belonging to the same family:

• Dictyocaulus filarial, parasitic on small ruminants such as sheep and goats.
• Dictyocaulus viviparous causing bovine disease.

In this helminthic infestation, the parasites cause severe irritation of the respiratory tract, leading to a deterioration in the he alth of the livestock, which causes significant losses for farmers and large agricultural producers.

What is the economic damage from pathology

Ruminant dictyocaulosis is easily transmitted from diseased animals by food, therefore, the larger the herd, the higher the risk of mass destruction and death of a large number of livestock. It is difficult, time-consuming and expensive to treat ruminants with dictyocaulosis, this affects productivity, the rate of weight gain, when it comes to beef farming, and a decrease in milk production in dairy production.

Besides, livestock starts to lag behind in growth, reaches the breeding season later, which also causes huge material damage to breeders, both small owners and farmers, and mass producers.

Causes of disease

The causative agent of dictyocaulosis in ruminants is a variety of nematodes - thread-like helminths that settle in the lower respiratory tract of ruminants. They are resistant to the environment, so they can be on the grass, in the ground and on other objects for a long period. From here, parasites get on food, mainly on grass, which is eaten by ruminant cattle on pastures, so the onset of the incidence occurs in spring, early summer, and the peak is in the middle of the warm season until October.

The disease of ruminant dictyocaulosis has no clear boundaries - it occurs in different countries and in all climatic conditions where cattle are bred.

In the respiratory tract of the victim, mature individuals of the parasite lay eggs, which, with coughing and saliva, sputum, are released outside into the oral cavity. The animal swallows eggs, which turn into larvae in the intestines, which are at the first stage of development.Together with the litter, they are brought out. However, some of the eggs and larvae can get on the grass and surrounding objects due to sneezing or coughing.

If the ambient temperature is below 10 degrees or above 30 degrees, the helminths will be at rest. But if the heat level rises above the lower mark and does not "pass" beyond the upper limit, the air will be sufficiently humid, and the oxygen level will be high, the nematodes have every chance to molt twice and continue development to the state of invasive larvae.

By swallowing them with food and/or water, animals become infected with ruminant dictyocaulosis and can carry parasites from 3 months to a year. They, as well as wet meadows and pastures, water sources become foci of infection and can lead to mass lesions of the entire livestock.

Symptoms and signs of the problem

At the first stage of ruminant dictyocaulosis, the animal shows blurred signs that resemble indigestion. They are accompanied by lethargy, loss of appetite, frequent loose stools. Then, after 3 weeks or a month, cattle infected with dictyocaulosis develop a slight cough, which gradually becomes dry, difficult, causing severe discomfort. Gradually, weakness increases, the animal becomes oppressed.

Young individuals suffer from nasal discharge, fever, exhaustion, secondary infections. There may also be suffocation, which develops due to the accumulation of parasites in the respiratory tract. Ruminant dictyocaulosis has multiple effects on cattle and small cattle:

1. Mechanical influence is associated with the accumulation of eggs and larvae in the trachea and bronchi, as well as in the lungs. This causes respiratory failure and an acute lack of oxygen, which depressingly affects the general well-being, appetite and development of young animals.
2. The presence of helminths causes inflammation in the surrounding tissues, which leads to a rise in temperature and a deterioration in well-being.
3. The vital activity of nematodes provokes intoxication, which aggravates the course of the disease.

Signs of dictyocaulosis will be more pronounced and noticeable in debilitated, unhe althy, old or very young animals.

Diagnostic Methods

In living animals, the diagnosis of "dictyocaulosis" can be made on the basis of obtaining results according to Vaid or Berman-Orlov and comparing them with the clinical picture of the disease. Until the fixation of the larvae in the secretions of ruminants with dictyocaulosis, an intradermal reaction to an allergy can be performed. With it, the allergen is injected into the crease under the tail using a subcutaneous injection. Infection can be detected no earlier than 21 days after infection.

Posthumously, to determine the cause of death of the animal, an autopsy of ruminant internal organs affected by dictyocaulosis is performed. When analyzing the feces of animals, it is necessary to distinguish nematodes from other larvae with similar features and sizes.

Treatment of dictyocaulosis in cattle

In case of timely detection of invasion, the following drugs are used:

1. "Ditrazin". This drug has an excellent effect on the pathogens of dictyocaulosis in ruminants. Small cattle are given single injections for the purpose of prevention, repeated injections for treatment. Dosage - 4 milliliters per 10 kilograms of animal weight. The injection is made in the area of the withers or elbow joint, in the form of a warm, freshly prepared solution. For cattle, the dose is 2 milliliters per 10 kilograms of body weight, administered three times, on the first, second and fourth day.
2. A solution of iodine in water is prepared as follows: 1 gram of iodine in crystalline form, 1.5 grams of potassium iodide is dissolved in 1.5 liters of boiled or distilled water. In this proportion, the drug is administered to young cattle. For calves and other cattle, a more concentrated preparation is made by diluting the same amount of iodine and potassium iodide in 1 liter of water.
3. "Ciazid" in the form of injections is used three times with an interval of 0.025 milliliters intramuscularly or subcutaneously a day.

The following drugs are also used for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes: Levamisole 75, Ivermek, Dictifug (which is a complete analogue of Ciazid), Loxuran, Nilverm and many others. In Ukraine, a method of fumigating herds with an aerosol of aluminum iodide has been developed and is being used.

It is extremely important to follow exactly the dosage indicated on a particular drug or calculated by a veterinarian for a sick animal. Medicines are toxic and overdose can adversely affect the he alth of the infected population.

During treatment, cattle are not allowed to pasture, and excrement is carefully collected and destroyed. The premises must be kept perfectly clean.

Disease prevention

It is impossible to reduce the risk of infection with dictyocaulosis in ruminants by 100%, but with a competent approach to the problem, you can significantly reduce the risk of mass lesions. To do this, it is best to choose the stall keeping of young animals and adult animals, separate grazing of the herd up to a year and older representatives, the use of specially prepared cultural pastures, and not random walking, as well as maintaining cleanliness in the premises where the herd or individual animals live.For preventive purposes, pastures are treated with Phenothiazine. Serve the drug with food and / or water so that the animals eat it on their own.

Equally important is the quarantine of newly purchased animals, separation from the general group of representatives with signs of infection, as well as timely injections from the disease, especially during an outbreak of dictyocaulosis on neighboring farms, household plots and pastures. It is also necessary to pay attention to the quality of water and food, as well as how they are stored. Cleanliness can protect cattle and small ruminants not only from ruminant dictyocaulosis, but also from a variety of other invasive diseases.

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