PARASITISM IN LIVESTOCK

A parasite is an organism which derives all its nutrients from another organism (Host).

It may also be defined as an organism that lives at the expense of the host causing injury and
discomfort without being useful to it anyway.
A host on the hand is an organism which entertains or accommodates a parasite.

Host are categorized according to how long they provide accommodation to a parasite and also at
what stage of growth the parasite seeks assistance of the host.
 Primary / definite / final host
 Secondary / intermediate.
 Specific host
 Accidental host
The injury and discomfort inflicted on the host may be light or critical depending on;
 The level of feeding and management of a host
 The kind of parasite
 The extent of infestation

Economic importance / effects / damage caused by parasites

 They cause irritation and may force the animals to cough or scratch themselves
 They remove or rob food nutrients from the host as in the case of tape worms and round
worms
 They break the skin of the animals and may lay their eggs e.g. in sheep reducing the quality
of the skin or hide
 They feed on the blood tissues of the host e.g. blood sucking worms, protozoa making the
host to suffer from anemia
 They cause mechanical blockage or obstruction of passages in the body e.g. liver flukes
may block the bile duct, tape worms may block the trachea of chicken and filarial worms
 Parasites transmit diseases to the host animals e.g. East coast fever, heart water by ticks
 They make sowers and wounds that may encourage entry of bacteria
 They cause inflammatory in the host by producing toxic or allergy forming substances e.g.
lung worms and liner flukes
 There is general loss of weight e.g. emaciation by the host due to the feeding actions of the
animal
 The growth rate of the animals reduces, more so the young ones
 They cause anemia due to sucking of blood.
 They cause death of the animals due to the inflammatory reactions
 They make tunnels in the lungs and liver
 Some damage the skin or hide of the host e.g. ticks reducing quality

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  They increase cost of production since money must be spent in trying to control parasites
 They make keeping of highly susceptible exotic stock difficult e.g ticks

General symptoms of infestation of the parasites in animals

 Emaciation i.e. loss of weight
 Tendency to have a pot belly stomach
 Coughing due to irritation
 Slow weight gain i.e. retorted growth
 Rough /starring coats or standing hair on the skin
 Swelling in the jaw regions
 Diarrhea
 Loss of appetite
 Unthriftness (being sluggish / slow and dull)
 Eggs and the body parts of the internal parasites are found in faeces
 Low yield e.g. eggs and milk yield will drop if the animal is infected
 Thin rigid back
 In severe cases, death may occur

General adaptations of parasites to their mode of life

 Some parasites have attachment devices e.g. hooks, suckers e.g. in tape worms which may
prevent them from being taken by food in the alimentary canal
 Internal parasites have inhibitory substances which prevent them from being digested by
enzymes
 They produce large numbers of eggs to ensure survival and rapid multiplication
 Some parasites use vectors to carry them to new hosts e.g. trypanosome are carried by
tsetse fly
 Some are hermaphrodites e.g. tape worms which increases their chances of survival
 They have the ability to respire both aerobically and anaerobically
 Some have long flattened body to increase the surface area for absorption of food
 Their color for protection from accaracides and sunshine
 They have legs for movement e.g. ticks

Types of parasites
External parasites: These live on / under the skin of the animal and derive their nourishment from
there e.g. ticks, mites, lice, and ring worms

Internal parasites: These live within the body of the host and get their nourishment from there
e.g. round worms, protozoa, tape worms and liver fluke
Periodic parasites: These live on the host for a short period of time / occasionally e.g. flees, flies

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Obligatory parasites: These live an absolutely parasitic life and for their entire life and depend
on the host or cannot survive without a host e.g. tape worm, liver flukes

Facultative parasites: These are also able to exist as non-parasites i.e. they live on their own at
time e.g. blow fly larvae

EXTERNAL / ECTO PARASITES

i) Ticks
These are eight legged blood sucking ecto-parasites. They affect cattle, goats, sheep, camels, pigs,
dogs, donkeys etc.

Hard ticks (Ixodidae)

They have a hard protective cover shaped like a shield. On the males the protective cover is on the
entire upper surface while in females as well
Nymph and larval stages, it covers only a small area behind the head. They have one Nymph stage.

They are categorised into one host, two host and three host depending on their life cycles.

Tick species Life cycle Diseases transmitted

Blue tick (Boophilus One host tick Anaplasmosis, Red water

decoloratus)

Red-legged tick Two host tick Red water

(Rhepicephalus evertsi)

Bont tick (Amblyoma Three host tick Heart water

variegatum)

Brown ear tick Three host tick East coast fever, Red water
(Rhepicephalus
appendiculatus)

LIFE CYCLE OF TICKS

All ticks undergo four stages in their developments i.e
Eggs 6 legged nymph 8 legged adult.
Female ticks lay eggs in holes on the ground, tree barks or on the underside of the leaves
After about two weeks under favourable conditions of temperature and humidity, eggs hatch into
six legged larvae
The larvae climbs and attaches onto plants waiting for a susceptible host to come by. The larvae
climb and attach onto a host with their legs.

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Larvae feed on the host by sucking blood until when they are fully engorged (filled with blood)
After about 4 days, the larvae moult into nymphs.
The nymphs feed for 4-6 days and moult into adults
The adults mate; females then suck blood and become engorged before dropping down to lay eggs.

Life cycle of one host ticks

These are the most resistant ticks to accaracides in East Africa.
These require one host in their life cycle as follows;
 The adult female tick lays eggs on the ground.
 The eggs hatch into larvae which climb on the leaves on grasses. To wait for a passing
animal on which they hatch themselves.
 After attachment the larvae feed on the blood of the host.
 Engorged larvae moults and nymphs develop.
 Nymphs feed on the blood of the host, moult and adults emerge
 Adults mate on the host and feed on the blood.
 Engorged females dropped on the ground to lay eggs.
 The life cycle is repeated.

TWO HOST TICK

These require only two hosts as follows;
 The adult lays eggs on ground which hatch into larvae and the larvae climb onto the first
host.
 The larvae feed on blood of the host after attachment.
 Engorged larvae moults and nymph emerge.
 Nymphs feed on blood and drop on the ground
 Nymphs on the ground moult into adults which become attached to the second host.
 Adults climb on second host, feed on blood and mate.
 Engorged females drop on the ground to lay eggs.
 The life cycle is repeated.

THREE HOST TICKS

 The adult female tick lays eggs on the ground.

 Eggs hatch into larvae which climbs onto the first host.
 Engorged larvae drop on the ground and moult into Nymphs.
 Nymphs climb on the second host and feed on blood.
 Engorged Nymphs drop on the ground and moult into adults.
 Adults climb on the third host, feed and mate.

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  The engorged female adults drop on the ground and lay eggs.
 The life cycle is repeated.

SOFT TICKS (ARGASIDAE)

They have a fairly tough lathery outer coating on the whole body.

Adaptations of ticks to their mode of parasitic life.

 They have four pairs of legs which enables them to move quickly searching for a host.
 They have pointed mouth parts for proper attachment on the host to enable them suck blood
 They have flat bodies which enable them to hide in the hair / fur / coat
 They have a hard coat cuticle which prevent them from damage and prevent desiccation
and loss of fluid.
 Have a colour similar to that of the hosts’ body for camouflage and avoids being destroyed
by the host
 They are very sensitive i.e sensitive to the presence hosts.
 Have resistant stages in their cycle hence increasing their chances of survival.
 Have the ability to detect and inhibit the parts of the host’s body where they can easily
attain nourishment but very difficult for the host to remove them e.g on the eyes, under the
tail.
 They have elastic alimentary canal which can store large quantities of blood.
 They can survive for long time without a host.
 Have anticoagulant in the alimentary canal to prevent clotting of blood

Economic importance / effects caused by ticks

 They are transmitters of diseases causing pathogens e.g protozoa that causes east coast
fever, heart water.
 They cause wounds on hosts which can be infected by bacteria / maggots.
 They suck blood from the host causing anemia.
 They lower the quality of hides and skins even when the wounds have been healed before
slaughter.
 They irritate the host or cause itching on the body of the host causing discomfort.
 Loss of weight and condition of animals.
 Reduction in production in terms of milk and meat.

Control of ticks
 Deeping or using accaricides e.g decatix, supona extra.
 Hand picking / de-ticking and crushing them.
 Hand dressing with concentrated accaracides called Pye grease particularly in specific
places like in the ears, under the tail, in between hooves and around horns.
 Burning old pastures / bushy areas used for grazing if infested with ticks. This helps to kill
eggs, larvae, nymphs which may be on grass or ground.

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  Rotational grazing which denies the parasites new hosts when they drop to moult.
 Doable fencing along the perimeter fence, the gap between the fences should always be
kept bare (without vegetation) to reduce entry of ticks on the farm.
 Ploughing of pasture paddocks to plant different crops in a crop rotational system helps to
kill ticks by burying them and their stages of life cycle.
 Perimeter fencing to keep away stray animals that may carry ticks to the farm

Procedure of hand spraying used to control ticks

The formula used is 3BRH i.e
 Backline
 Belly
 Brisket
 Rear
 Head respectively
 Start by spraying the entire length of the back or backline from the shoulder to the tail
switch by holding the switch of the tail over the back.
 Spray the brisket and each of the front legs in turn.
 Spray the belly, udder / scrotum with the nozzle facing upwards.
 Spray the anus, vulva, base of the tail to the tail switch.
 Spray the head, face, neck and ears.
 Spray the inside of the ears last.

How ticks transmit diseases

A tick bites an infected host animal carrying pathogens

The tick picks up pathogens from the blood, the pathogens move to the salivary glands of the tick
where they multiply and develop.

When that tick bites a healthy animal, it injects the pathogens into the animal’s blood stream
leading to infection

INTERNAL PARASITES
They are grouped into two main groups which include worms and coccidian that live inside the
body of animals.

Coccidia are protozoa that attack and feed on the lining of small and large intestines causing a
disease called coccidiosis.
The worms (helminthes) are grouped into;

 Platyhelminthes (flat worms) which include liver flukes, tape worms.

 Nemahelminths (round worms) which include so many species and the common ones being
nematodes, askaris, lungworms.

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Symptoms of worm infection
 Infested animals will be stunted / slow growth.
 Production will decline e.g egg and milk yield will drop if animals are attacked.
 Animals become anemic.
 Infected animals show digestive problems e.g constipation, diarrhea.
 The coats become starry and rough.
 Potbellied stomach is common.
 Edema especially in the jaw region.
 Eggs and body parts of worms are seen in faeces.
 Skin and mucus membrane become pale.
 Animals become emaciated and lose weight.
 Coughing
 Loss of appetite

i) LIVER FLUKE
A liver fluke is a soft unsegmented oval flat worm which is dorsal ventrally flattened and shaped
like a leaf. Its color shade ranges from pinkish, grey to brown.

There are many species of flukes affecting livestock but those that are of major economic
importance are:
 Fasciola hepatica (widely distributed of all)
 Fasciola gigantic

The mature fluke lives in liver particularly in the bile duct. The immature fluke lives in the liver
tissue but they may often occur in the other organs. The mature liver flukes are hermaphrodites
which produce fertilized eggs.

Life cycle of a liver fluke

Adult liver flukes lay eggs in the liver and bile duct, the eggs enter the intestines and are passed
out together with dung and faeces from the host.
The eggs are hatched into ciliated embryo, miracidium 6 weeks after dropping on the ground.

Miracidium swims around in water to look for a snail or intermediate host and penetrate into its
body.
Inside the snail the miracidium turns into sporocyst (shapeless mass of cells)
The sporocyst develop into redia while in the snail. The radia multiply and produce more radiae

The redia migrate into the digestive gland of the snail where they grow into another larval stage
with a tail called cercaria.
The cercaria lives the snail to swim in water using its tail and attaches itself on grass.

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The cercaria loses its tail and forms a cyst. This stage is called metacercaria or encapsulated
cercaria.
Metacercaria sticks on grass and waits for the grazing animal which swallows it.
Inside the intestines of the host, the cyst dissolves to release young flukes.

These flukes bore through the walls of intestine and migrate to the liver where they grow into
adults and settle in the bile duct.
The cycle begins again.

Symptoms of liver fluke infestation

 Loss of body condition or emaciation.
 Fluke eggs in the faeces or dung.
 Standing hair or rough coat.
 Animals become weak, dull and sluggish.
 Diarrhea.
 Loss of appetite.
 Hemorrhage or bleeding in the liver of the host.
 Skin and mucus membranes become yellow.
 Disturbed rumination.
 Reduction in production e.g. Milk.
 Post mortem shows thickening bile duct with liver flukes in the liver.
 Swollen abdomen
 Blockage of the bile duct

Adaptation of liver flukes to parasitic life

 They secrete digestive juices to enable them soften and penetrate hosts.
 They produce very many eggs to increase their chances of survival.
 They have a secondary host to double their chances of survival or having a host at any one
time.
 They can respire anaerobically.
 They have a sucker with which they attach themselves onto the host tissues
 They are hermaphrodites and can reproduce without looking for a mate.
 They have the ability to withstand the high temperatures prevalent in the host’s interior.
 They shade off the non-essential organs in adults.
 They have a suckers for sucking nutrients from the liver
 Possess cuticle with a slimy substance for protection against antitoxins of the host.

Control of liver flukes

 Kill water snails which serve as intermediate hosts by applying copper sulphate solution in
ponds, dams and beaches.

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  Use recommend anthelminthic drugs such as bilevon, mansonil, nilzon, ranide, levafas,
trodax to drench animals.
 Keep cattle away from marshy areas where there are stagnant waters.
 Use ducks to feed on snails thus reducing the snail population.
 Burn infested swampy areas during dry season.
 Rotational and zero grazing to break down the life cycle of the flukes.
 Harrow the pastures in dry weather.
 Animals should be given water from bore holes or fast flowing water from rivers with no
snails
 Drain swampy areas to remove excess water and discourage snails

TAPE WORMS
They affect all classes of life stock and man who mainly serve as a primary host of a parasite.
There are many different species of tape worms which attack specific type of animals.

 Beef tapeworm (Taenia solium)

 Pork tapeworm (Taenia saginata)
 Pig tapeworm (T. dipylidium)

Adult tape worm lives in the intestines of man. It has a dorsal ventrally flattened and segmented
body. The segments are called proglottides. Each proglottis is hermaphroditic. Mature proglottides
are at the rear while young ones are near the head. Mature segments containing eggs break off one
by one and are passed out through faeces.

Life cycle of a tape worm

Mature proglottides containing fertile eggs break off the worms into the intestines and are passed
out with feaces.
An embryo with six hooks (oncosphore) is developed from each egg
The embryo (Oncosphore) is eaten up with grass or any type of feed.

When the oncospore reaches the alimentary canal, it bores its way through the intestinal wall into
the muscles.
It grows into a rounded cyst with a cavity, this stage is called the bladder worm.

When human beings eat uncooked/ poorly cooked beef or pork, the cyst dissolves in the man’s
intestines and the parasites with hooks are released.
The head of the worm attaches itself to the wall of the intestine.
The worm develops proglottides or segments and reaches adult stage.

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The cycle repeats itself.

Symptoms of infestation by tape worm

 Rough hair coat
 Pot belly in young animals
 Diarrhea or constipation
 Digestive disturbance

Control of tapeworm
 Properly cook beef and pork.
 Proper inspection of meat before being consumed by humans. Infected meat should be
condemned
 Regular deworming of livestock using recommended drugs
 Ensuring proper disposal of human feaces

Adaptations of tape worms to parasitic life

 They are hermaphrodite hence don’t need to for mates.
 They produce many eggs to ensure their survival
 It’s flat and long giving a large surface area for absorbing food.
 It has hooks and suckers for attachment into the alimentary canal of the host.
 Its ribbon like body shape enables it to curl around itself and fit easily into the alimentary
canal of the host

ROUND WARMS
These are small cylindrical, non-segmented living organisms with both ends pointed. They have a
soft covering which is pinkish or yellow, white and there posterior ends are shaped like letter C
They are hermaphroditic and live within the intestines of the hosts e.g. Ascaris and hook worms

Life cycle of the common round worm (Ascaris lumbricoides)

Adult female round worms lay microscopic eggs with resistant shells which are passed out with
the dung of animals.
After 3-4 days, eggs hatch into larvae.
The larvae crawl and climb onto grass

The larvae are taken by the host as it feeds; they penetrate through the walls of the intestines into
the blood stream.

The larvae are transported in blood to the heart then to the liver and lungs. They damage the lungs
causing pneumonia.

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They are coughed from the lungs into the mouth and swallowed back into the intestines where they
mature from.
The female begins shedding eggs within 2-4 weeks after being ingested by cattle.
The cycle is repeated.

Control.
 Calves should graze ahead of mature cattle in rational grazing.
 Provide clean drinking water.
 Rational grazing to break the life cycle.
 Proper disposal of animal wastes especially under zero grazing.
 Regular deworming of livestock with recommended drugs e.g piperazine
 Avoid grazing livestock in poorly drained pasture
 Ensure proper sanitation in animal quarters

Adaptations of round worms for their mode of life

 They produce many fertilized eggs for their mode of life

 They have the ability of the larval stage to cyst living in harsh conditions
 The cysts can be dispersed by wind
 They have the ability to live in place with low oxygen and respire anaerobically in low
oxygen environment
 They possess shelled eggs which are protected from drying out and remain viable for long
time increasing chances of survival
 They have micro villi in the gut increasing the surface are for food digestion
 They produce anti-enzyme substances to reduce the impact of intestinal enzymes
 They feed on already digested food and host tissues
 They have a pointed anterior for penetrating into the intestines.
 Their cuticle is covered with a slimy discharge to protect them from being digested by the
enzymes of the host.
 They possess a mouth for ingestion of food
 Their smooth unsegmented body protects them from being removed from the intestines by
moving food materials.
QN: Explain why animal parasites have become a consistent problem to livestock farmers in
2. Describe the life cycle of a two host tick
b) Explain the procedure of hand spraying to control ticks on a beef herd.
c) Outline the adaptations of ticks to parasitic life.
3a. Explain the effect of ticks on agriculture

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