Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Diagnosing and treating horse stomach worms using houseflies
By Schuster, Rolf K & Sivakumar, Saritha·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2013·Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: A xenodiagnostic method using Musca domestica for the diagnosis of gastric habronemosis and examining the anthelmintic efficacy of moxidectin.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A stallion in Dubai was diagnosed with a skin infection caused by a stomach parasite called Habronema after showing symptoms of cutaneous habronematidosis. Researchers found that 18 out of 49 horses on the farm were infected, and they treated all the horses with a single dose of moxidectin, a medication that targets parasites. After treatment, the infection was cleared in all horses, and follow-up tests showed no further signs of the parasite in houseflies, which are known to carry the larvae. This method of using flies to diagnose and monitor the infection proved effective in ensuring the horses were healthy again.
People also search for: horse stomach parasite treatment · moxidectin for horses · Habronema infection symptoms
Abstract
Equine habronematidosis has a global distribution and is caused by three spirurid species, Habronema muscae, Habronema microstoma and Draschia megastoma. A case of cutaneous habronematidosis in a stallion in a stable in Dubai, UAE gave occasion to investigate the parasite situation on the farm. Patent H. muscae infections were diagnosed in 18 out of 49 horses in a stable in Dubai, UAE with a xenodiagnostic test using houseflies as indicator host. All horses in the stable were treated with a single dose of moxidectin administered orally as 2% gel in a dosage of 0.4 mg/kg body weight and the efficacy of this targeted treatment was studied. Habronema infection was terminated in all horses. A fly survey conducted at the farm prior and after treatment revealed two muscid species: Musca domestica and Stomoxys calcitrans. Only M. domestica caught at the farm showed a natural infection with Habronema larvae prior and shortly after anthelmintic treatment. Later, examination of flies caught at the farm in monthly intervals up to the end of observation (8 months after treatment) gave negative results. The absence of infection in the intermediate host was an indication of the eradication of stomach worms. The described xenodiagnostic test is a useful tool to diagnose H. muscae infections and can be used to evaluate the efficacy of nematocides in equines.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23845307/