Localization and migration of benzimidazole resistant and susceptible adult Cooperia curticei in the small intestine of sheep after treatment with thiabendazole
D. Kerboeuf et al., Localization and migration of benzimidazole resistant and susceptible adult Cooperia curticei in the small intestine of sheep after treatment with thiabendazole, VET PARASIT, 93(1), 2000, pp. 47-55
Four groups of three lambs per group were experimentally infected with Coop
eria curticei susceptible (two groups) or resistant (two groups) to benzimi
dazoles, and distributions of adult worms in the small intestine were studi
ed. For each Cooperia isolate, one group was treated with thiabendazole (TB
Z) (5 or 50 mg/kg bodyweight) 28 days after infection. In the two untreated
groups, the population of C. curticei were present from the second to the
tenth meter of intestine from the pylorus with a maximum in the sixth meter
for both isolates. After treatment with TBZ, the size of the resistant wor
m population did not significantly decrease but a large number of worms wer
e found towards the proximal sections of the intestine. In contrast, the su
sceptible population was reduced by about 40% but the surviving worms remai
ned at this same site of predilection after treatment. Measurements of the
concentration of TBZ and 5OH-thiabendazole (5OH-TBZ) in the intestinal segm
ents do not indicate a clear relationship between the localization of worms
and TBZ or 5OH-TBZ concentrations at least 12h after the anthelmintic trea
tment. The hypothesis of an enhanced expression of the mechanisms of resist
ance in the first few meters of small intestine is suggested. (C) 2000 Else
vier Science B.V. All rights reserved.