[Strongyloides westeri Ihle, 1917 (Nematoda: Strongyloididae). I. Parasitological features of natural infection (author’s transl)].

This research article studies the parasitological features of Strongyloides westeri infection, especially in foals. It highlights the rate of infection in weaned and unweaned foals and discusses potential transmission methods, including trans-mammary infection.

Objective

The research seeks to understand the parasitological features of Strongyloides westeri infection primarily in unweaned foals, with a secondary focus on weaned foals and mares. The researchers investigated both faecal matter and milk to examine potential transmission routes.

Study on Foals

• The research found a high rate of the parasitic infection in unweaned foals, around 61.2%, which drastically reduced to 15.4% in their weaned counterparts.
• The study included ten artificially reared foals, assumingly parasite-free, to investigate the possibility of prenatal or intra-uterine helminth infection. The examination of their faecal samples revealed no such evidence, indicating that the parasite doesn’t transmit prenatally within the worm-free foals.

Infection in Mares

• The researchers also studied lactating mares, particularly a Shetland pony mare. The mare’s milk, examined on three different days post-parturition, contained larvae of S. westeri, suggesting a possible transmission path.
• Interestingly, other mares in the study did not demonstrate larvae in their milk samples, yet all their foals contracted the infection within thirteen to sixteen days after birth.

Inference

• Given the living conditions of the studied animals and the lack of evidence of prenatal transmission, the researchers concluded that the parasite probably infects the foals transmammary, i.e., the larvae transfer from infected mares to nursing foals through milk, causing the patent S. westeri infection.