Review and Evaluation of Antibody ELISA for Application on Serum Samples in First Season Grazing Calves.

The -Ab ELISA assay is widely used as a diagnostic tool for monitoring gastrointestinal (GI) nematodes using milk samples from adult dairy cows. This assay is potentially also useful to analyse serum samples from first-season grazing (FSG) calves, providing a more cost-effective and robust diagnostic technique than the current serum pepsinogen assay. However, a comprehensive evaluation of its use in serum samples from FSG calves has not yet been conducted.

Cattle and Nematodes Under Global Change: Transmission Models as an Ally.

Nematode infections are an important economic constraint to cattle farming. Future risk levels and transmission dynamics will be affected by changes in climate and farm management. The prospect of altered parasite epidemiology in combination with anthelmintic resistance requires the adaptation of current control approaches.

Modelling Cooperia oncophora: Quantification of key parameters in the parasitic phase.

Cooperia oncophora is one of the most common intestinal nematodes in cattle. It is also the dose-limiting species for the most frequently used anthelmintics, and consequently, the species usually involved in reports of anthelmintic resistance. However, little information is available on its population dynamics, hindering the parameterisation of transmission models to support understanding of the impact of anthelmintic resistance, climate change and alternative control strategies on nematode epidemiology.

Non-invasive indicators associated with the milk yield response after anthelmintic treatment at calving in dairy cows.

Background: Gastrointestinal nematodes are an important cause of reduced performance in cattle. Previous studies in Europe showed that after anthelmintic treatment an average gain in milk production of around 1 kg per day/cow can be expected. However, (1) these studies have mainly evaluated group-based anthelmintic treatments during the grazing season or at housing and (2) little is known about parameters affecting variations in the treatment response amongst cows.