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Bulletin No. 17 - Winter 2003
Parasitology- No Category
THOMSEN LE, BACH KNUDSEN KE, ROEPSTORFF A.
The effect of carbohydrates on the establishment of Trichuris suis in the large intestine of pigs.
Proceedings of the 19th International Conference of the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology, New Orleans, Louisiana, August 10-14, 2003, page 190
Diets containing carbohydrates with contrasting fermentability have been shown to significantly influence the establishment, persistence and localization of Oesophagostomum dentatum. In pigs fed diets with highly fermentable carbohydrates the infection was reduced significantly compared with pigs given diets with less fermentable carbohydrates. The objective of the study was to investigate whether diets with similar carbohydrate properties would have an effect on infections with Trichuris suis. Two groups of pigs were fed diets with resistant (Diet A) and fermentable (Diet B) carbohydrates, respectively. All the pigs were inoculated with 2000 infective T. suis eggs each and infections were followed with faecal egg counts. Eight weeks post infection 6 pigs from each group were killed and the remaining pigs were sacrificed 12 weeks p.i.. The large intestine was divided into 5 sections and worms from each section were counted. Egg counts from pigs on Diet B were significantly lower compared with Diet A, and egg excretion stopped from pigs on Diet B 10 weeks p.i. Worm counts were high and similar in the two groups 8 weeks p.i., but 12 weeks p.i. only 10 worms were found in two pigs on Diet B, while the worm counts from Diet A pigs were comparable to the week 8 necropsy. Diets with highly fermentable carbohydrates may be an effective natural way of reducing/eliminating infections with helminth parasites in the large intestine of pigs.
