Thelazia rhodesi in a dairy farm in Romania and successful treatment using eprinomectin. (February 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Deak, Georgiana; Ionică, Angela Monica; Oros, Nicuşor-Valentin; Gherman, Călin Mircea; Mihalca, Andrei Daniel
• Is Part Of: Parasitology international. Volume 80(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-02
• Subjects: Thelazia rhodesi -- Eprinomectin -- Treatment -- Romania; Parasitology -- Periodicals; Parasites -- Periodicals; Parasitic Diseases -- Periodicals; Parasitology -- Periodicals; Parasitologie -- Périodiques; 571.99905
• DOI: 10.1016/j.parint.2020.102183
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1383-5769

Abstract

Abstract: Bovine thelaziosis can be caused by Thelazia rhodesi Desmarest 1828, Thelazia gulosa Railliet & Henry 1910 and Thelazia skrjabini Erschow 1928 which are known to be transmitted by species of Muscidae. Therapeutic measures in cattle include mechanical removal of the adult parasites, followed by irrigation of the conjunctival sac with different solutions such as levamisole (1%) or administration of ivermectin (0.2 mg/kg SC), doramectin (0.2 mg/kg SC or pour-on) both with high efficacy, however, the use of such macrocyclic lactones can be problematic in lactating cattle. Nematodes harboured in the eyes of some cattle from Romania were morphologically identified as Thelazia rhodesi and the PCR analysis confirmed the diagnosis with a 98.0% nucleotide similarity for ITS1 sequence, with other sequences available in GenBank. The present paper reports the presence of T. rhodesi in cattle from a dairy farm in Romania and the recovery after treatment with eprinomectin. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report on the efficacy of eprinomectin against Thelazia spp. and the first molecular confirmation of T. rhodesi in Romania. Graphical abstract: Unlabelled Image Highlights: A case of bovine thelaziosis infection in a dairy farm from Romania. Distribution of Thelazia spp. in cattle in Romania. Dairy farm treated against Thelazia rhodesi using eprinomectin.