Anthelmintic resistance in gastrointestinal nematodes of goats in an organized farm from Mhow, Madhya Pradesh

A study was conducted to assess the status of resistance against commonly used anthelmintics in gastrointestinal nematodes of goats maintained in an organized farm in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. A total of 60 goats naturally infected with strongyle worms with more than 500 eggs per gram (EPG) of faeces were selected for faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) and were divided into four groups comprising 15 animals each. Animals of Group-A, B, and C were drenched with albendazole @ 10 mg/kg b. wt., levamisole @ 7.5 mg/kg b.wt. and ivermectin @ 200 μg/kg b.wt., respectively, while animals of Group-D served as infected untreated control. Faecal samples were collected from each animal on day 0 and day 14 post-treatment and were quantitatively evaluated for egg counts. The reduction in faecal egg counts were recorded as 93.94, 89.09 and 100% for albendazole, levamisole and ivermectin, respectively. Further, the 95% lower confidence interval for levamisole and albendazole was found to be 50 and 72%, respectively, demonstrating that the gastrointestinal nematodes had developed resistance against levamisole and albendazole, while being susceptible to ivermectin. Findings of the present investigation recommend discontinuation of use of levamisole and albendazole with continuation of use of ivermectin for worm management in the given population of goats.