Małgorzata Raś-Noryńska

Virtually all horses in Poland receive periodically deworming treatment. In the view of emerging anthelmintic resistance it is important to know the current parasite control practices used by Polish horse owners. In order to assess the situation and analyze it in terms of the risk of drug resistance, a questionnaire survey was forwarded to 300 horse establishments. The response rate was 49.6%. The average number of deworming treatments in adult horses was determined at 2.1. and 2.8 for youngstock per calendar year. The most commonly used drugs were ivermectin, pyrantel pamoate and moxidectin. Almost 73% of respondents indicated that they take into consideration the resistance of parasites. However, only 4,03% of the responders regularly send faecal samples from all horses for parasitological examination. In ca. 92% of cases the person administrating the drug guessed the weight of the horse by the visual evaluation. Generally, little attention was payed to pasture hygiene and prevention of parasitic infection. The responses indicate high level of awareness among horse owners of the need to control parasites. It also show the large involvement of veterinarians as a source of advice about deworming practices, so we concluded that the most appropriate way to achieve improvement would be implementation of further education programmes for veterinarians.

Nowadays a growing number of exotic reptiles are kept as pets. The aim of this study was to determine the species of parasites found in reptile patients of veterinary practices in Poland. Fecal samples obtained from 76 lizards, 15 turtles and 10 snakes were examined by flotation method and direct smear stained with Lugol's iodine. In 63 samples (62.4%) the presence of parasite eggs and oocysts was revealed. Oocysts of Isospora spp. (from 33% to 100% of the samples, depending on the reptilian species) and Oxyurids eggs (10% to 75%) were predominant. In addition, isolated Eimeria spp. oocysts and Giardia intestinalis cysts were found, as well as Strongylus spp. and Hymenolepis spp. eggs. Pet reptiles are often infected with parasites, some of which are potentially dangerous to humans. A routine parasitological examination should be done in such animals.

Infections caused by nematodes of the subfamily Cyathostominae affect nearly 100% of pastured horses. Despite of an absence of pronounced symptoms, cyathostominosis can have very serious health consequences. The aim of this study was to monitor changes in total protein levels and concentrations of selected microelements and macroelements in the blood of horses before and after ivermectin treatment. In healthy horses infected by the studied parasites, total blood protein levels were below the physiological norm, but iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) concentrations were within normal limits. Ivermectin treatment reduced the number of excreted parasite eggs (FEC) by 100%, and dead parasites were observed in feces. Decreased iron (Fe) concentrations and an insignificant increase in total blood protein levels were reported. A progressive decline in iron levels was observed when parasite eggs reappeared in feces 60 days after treatment. Iron loss takes place as a result of bleeding from the large intestine when adult nematodes affected by the drug are removed from intestine and fourth-stage larvae leave parasitic nodules in the intestinal wall. A drop in iron levels could be an indirect indicator of the severity of cyathostominosis.

Most parasitic intestinal infestations in humans are sub-clinical and, therefore, they are rarely diagnosed. A number of general, non-specific symptoms of parasitic invasions are often attributed to other diseases. A parasitological examination of feces performed as part of this study confirmed the presence of intestinal parasites in 21.6% of samples. Among the patients who reported 6 different symptoms, the percentage of parasite-positive samples reached 80%. The obtained results suggest that coproscopic tests may establish the diagnosis in unclear cases, particularly in children. Many parasitic invasions are zoonoses and pets owe a reservoir. In view of the above, the results for pet owners and non-pet owners were compared in the study. There was no direct correlation between pet ownership and the incidence of parasitic infections.

Coccidiosis caused by Eimeria spp. is a common parasitic disease in homing pigeons. The study objective was to evaluate the incidence of coccidia infections in pigeon lofts during racing season. The intensity of coccidiosis was determined by floatation analyses of faeces samples collected from three pigeon groups performed in three replications (before the racing season, in mid-season and after the end of racing season). The presence of coccidia oocysts was determined in all faeces samples in each replication. At the end of the racing season, the average oocyst counts in faeces samples collected from pigeons that were flown for the first time increased by around 10% in relation to oocysts counts determined before the race. In flown pigeons (aged 2-4 years) a 2.5-9.9% drop was noted in oocysts counts subject to flock, whereas an increase of 15.7-17.3% was reported in parent flocks (unflown pigeons). The results of the experiment indicate that coccidia infections are a common problem in homing pigeons during racing season, which affects racing results and contributes to bird loss.