The effect of continuous in-feed medication with thiophanate on Ascaris suum and Oesophagostomum spp. egg output in young pigs.

Abstract

The full potential of anthelmintics now available for single dose treatment is not achieved because the devising system for worm control in piglets/weaners is not efficiently applicable in practice. Therefore an in-feed medication programme for growing young pigs, allowing only one feed lot to be handled by the farmer, was tested in two studies. Study A Feed containing 0.0225% thiophanate was continuously fed almost ad lib. to piglets from birth right up to about 25 kg body weight when ready for fattening. This control measure effectively prevented A. suum and Oesophagostomum from becoming established during the whole pre-fattening period, thus allowing "worm-free" weaners to be produced. -33% of animals receiving unmedicated feed harboured mature Oesophagostomum already at an age of 63 days when first examined. Three out of 97 unmedicated pigs were then A. suum egg-count positive. At the same time all medicated pigs, except one with a low Oesophagostomum egg output, were egg-count negative. All medicated were still egg-count negative at 23-29 days after the withdrawal of the feed. About 30% of unmedicated pigs were then shedding eggs of A. suum and Oesophagostomum respectively. At 45-49 days after the withdrawal of the medicated feed 8% of previously medicated pigs and 43% of unmedicated pigs were A. suum egg-count positive. The corresponding figures for Oesophagostomum egg-count positive pigs were 6% and 40% respectively. The acquisition of worm infections by previously medicated pigs most probably was made in the fattening unit after the withdrawal of the thiophanate medicated feed. Study B In this study it was further substantiated that in-feed medication of pigs with thiophanate prevents A. suum from becoming established. All treated pigs were A. suum egg-count negative at Day 43 and 46 after the withdrawal of the medicated feed whereas about 62% of untreated control pigs were shedding A. suum eggs at the same time. This finding justify the proposal that the in-feed medication performed prevented larval migration. Furthermore it was shown that the in-feed medication must proceed right up to the transfer of piglets to the fattening unit in order to achieve its full potential. Farrowing pens may be heavily contaminated with infective Oesophagostomum larvae at the end of the pre-fattening period resulting in sudden and heavy nodular worm infections after the withdrawal of the medicated feed.