Use of a saliva-based diagnostic test to identify tapeworm infection in horses in the UK.

The research article discusses how a saliva-based diagnostic test was used to identify horses with tapeworm infections in the UK, and the impact of this type of diagnosis on anthelmintic treatment administration. The study found that this method significantly reduced the use of anthelmintic treatment compared to an all-group treatment approach, which could help lower the risk of anthelmintic resistance.

Research Objective and Methodology

• The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of a saliva-based diagnostic test to identify horses that were naturally infected with tapeworms, and to assess the impact of using this test to determine whether to administer anthelmintic treatment.
• The researchers conducted a retrospective longitudinal study. They collected saliva samples from 237 horses from a welfare charity in the UK over the course of a year, from Autumn 2015 to Autumn 2016.
• Horses that tested positive for tapeworm infection using the EquiSal Tapeworm test were given anthelmintic treatment based on their weight.
• To quantify the test’s impact on anthelmintic use, the researchers compared the number of horses that received the anthelmintic treatment based on the test results with an all-group treatment approach.
• New horses introduced during the study were also tested (amounting to 143) and their results informed their quarantine treatments.

Research Findings

• The study revealed that in Autumn 2015, 85% of the 237 horses studied received no anthelmintic treatment, while 71% of the untreated horses remained below the treatment threshold throughout the study.
• Out of the 69 horses that received treatment, only seven required treatment after three subsequent tests. More than 50% of the horses that were administered with anthelmintic fell below the treatment threshold in the next test.
• The researchers did not observe any increase in tapeworm prevalence among the 237 horses during the study, despite the notable reduction in the administration of anthelmintic treatments.
• A total of 41% of new incoming horses required anticestode treatment during the quarantine period.

Conclusion

• The research concluded that use of the saliva-based diagnostic test greatly reduced the administration of anticestode anthelmintics to horses compared to an all-group treatment strategy.
• The study emphasized that this diagnostic-led approach could help reduce the pressure for the selection of anthelmintic resistance, mitigating the risk of tapeworms developing immunity to these drugs.
• However, the study did not incorporate other management practices in the analysis, suggesting that these inconclusive factors might also impact the infection level, diagnosis, and treatment of tapeworm infections in horses.