Distribution
Particularly present in temperate zones.
Economic Importance:
Hosts:
Ostertagia ostertagi is primarily considered a a major nematode
parasite of young cattle. The causal agent of ostertagiasis.
Feeding
As they age, young calves slowly develop an acquired but incomplete immunity
to Ostertagia ostertagi. The acquired immunity appears to be offset by
impairment of the host antibody and cellular immune responses to the nematode,
which allows its survival in the host. (Klesius, 1988).
Early evidence of acquired immunity to
Ostertagia ostertagia during development of young calves was
provided by observations of
Michel (1063). When valves received a daily dose of infective larvae, there
was a density-dependent loss (mortrality) of adult worms depending on the
number present. Also, there was a reversible inhibition of development in
the early fourth stage, a stunting of size of adult worms developing late in
the infection and a reduction in fecundity of adults. there was resistance
to establishment of newly acquired larvae after prolonged exposure to
multiplr infections.
Life Cycle:
Life cycle is direct, there are no intermediate hosts. Eggs are
deposited in feces of infected cattle. Depending on temperature and
moisture conditions, eggs hatch and juveniles develop to the third
stage. During this free-living phase, juveniles migrate to surrounding
grass and other herbage where they are consumed by grazing animals.
Third stage juveniles associated with grass my survive for two years or
more, although numbers decline across time (Rose, 1961).
Damage:
Management:
References:
Beveridge, I., Spratt, D.M., Durette-Desset, M-C. 2013. Order Strongylida
(Railliet & Henry, 1913). Handbook Of Zoology Online. De Gruyter
Drozdz, J., 1995. Polymorphism in the Ostertagiinae Lopez Neyra, 1947 and
Comments on the Systematics of These Nematodes, Syst. Parasitol., 1995,
32:91-99.
Klesius, P.H. 1988. Immunity to Ostertagia ostertagi.
Veterinary parsitology 27: 159-167.
Kuznetsov, D.N. 2011. Taxonomic Revision of the Genus Ostertagia (Nematoda:
Ostertagiinae) Based on an ITS2 rDNA Study. Biology Bulletin, 38:608-614.
Original Russian Text: Kuznetsov, D.N. 2011, in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk,
Seriya Biologicheskaya, 2011, 6: 710-16.
Michel JF. 1963. The phenomena of host resistance and the course of
infection of Ostertagia ostertagi in calves. Parasitology.
1963;53(1-2):63-84. doi:10.1017/S0031182000072541
Ransom. B.H. 1907. Notes of Parasitic
Nematodes, Including Descriptions of New Genera and Species and Observations
on Life Histories. US Govwernment Printing Office 7pp.
Rose, J.H. 1961. Some observations on the free-living stages of
Ostertagia ostertagi, a stomach worm of cattle. Parasitology
51:295-307.
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