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Parasol

 

Research Projects

 

Parasol Project (Europe)

 

NOVEL SOLUTIONS FOR THE SUSTAINABLE CONTROL OF NEMATODES IN RUMINANTS

 

 
Information Resourses:

 

Project Term:
  • 3 years
  • Commencement - Febuary 2006

 

Project Budget:
  • Total 4 million Euro
  • EU contribution 3 million Euro

 

FECPAK Involvement:

In association with our European distribution partner CBS Technologies, FECPAK technology is one of the tools to be evaluated within the PARASOL Project for use within a Targeted Selective Treatment (TST) strategy.

Project Participants:
  • Jozef Vercruysse, Ghent, Belgium.
  • Adrian Wolstenholme, Bath, UK.
  • Gerald Coles and Eric Morgan, Bristol, UK.
  • Dominique Kerboeuf, Jacques Cabaret and Michel Alvinerie, INRA, France.
  • Georg von Samson-Himmelstjerna, Hanover, Germany.
  • Johan Hoglund, Uppsala.
  • Frank Jackson, Moredun, UK.
  • Marian Varady, Kosice, Slovak Republic.
  • Jan van Wyk, SUP, South Africa.
  • Boumadiane Berrag, Rabat, Morocco.
  • Elias Papadopoulos, Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • Giuseppe Cringoli, Naples, Italy.
  • Eurion Thomas, CBS, UK.
  • Leon de Beer, NWGR, South Africa.
  • Malik Merza, SVANOVA, Sweden.
  • Simone Lippert and Ivonne Buchholz, PROPAGO, Germany.
  • Thomas Franz, Franz and Jaeger GmbH, Germany.

 

Project Summary

PARASOL focuses on gastro-intestinal nematode parasites of ruminants as they are the greatest threat to animal welfare and production. It is believed effective research contributions can be made in this area within the next three years. Current conventional methods for worm control involve repeated dosing of whole herds with synthetic anthelmintics but are unsustainable due to the food and environmental residues produced and because they promote the spread of anthelmintic resistance by failing to leave an untreated parasite refugium. Effective chemical anthelmintics remain irreplaceable for worm control and their elimination is not practical on animal welfare and economic grounds.

We will replace current practice with Targeted Selective Treatments (TST), where only animals showing clinical symptoms or reduced productivity are given drugs. Animals with low worm burdens are symtomless and do not require treatment. We will assess several innovative methods, under various farming conditions, for identifying animals that require treatment, and produce and standardise tests for anthelmintic resistance to ensure that the drugs are effective. We will produce, by the end of the project, clear guidelines and protocols for sustainable, low-input, user- and consumer-friendly nematode control.

In order to do this we will: (1) assess the effect of targeted selective treatments on productivity, animal welfare and the spread of anthelmintic resistance genes under a range of farming conditions; (2) determine the best methods of identifying animals and herds requiring anthelmintic intervention; (3) standardise existing in vivo and in vitro tests for detecting anthelmintic resistance and develop new tests for ones that are inadequate; (4) optimise the efficacy and bioavailability of anthelmintics by modulating parasite P-glycoprotein detoxification systems; (5) communicate with farmers, veterinarians and advisors, to produce and disseminate guidance to ensure good uptake and implementation of the protocols produced; and (6) through training of trainers and farmers and by applying the novel methods of worm management in animals in communal grazing systems in South Africa, test how practical TSTs are for general use by resource-poor farmers.

 

PARASOL Project - Recent News

 

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For further information please see the Parasol Website