Formulating Parasiticidal Fungi in Dried Edible Gelatins to Reduce the Risk of Infection by Trichuris sp. among Continuous Grazing Bison

Abstract

Control of infection by gastrointestinal nematodes remains a big problem in ruminants under continuous grazing. For the purpose of decreasing the risk of infection by Trichuris sp. in captive bison (Bison bison) always maintained in the same plot, dried gelatins having ≥106 chlamydospores of both Mucor circinelloides and Duddingtonia flagrans were given to them for one week, and at the end, fecal samples (FF) collected each week for four weeks were analyzed immediately. Feces taken one week prior to gelatin administration served as controls (CF). Eggs of Trichuris sp. were sorted into non-viable and viable, then classified into viable undeveloped (VU), viable with cellular development (VCD), or viable infective (VI). Ovistatic and ovicidal effects were determined throughout the study. In FF, viability of Trichuris eggs decreased between 9% (first week) and 57% (fourth week), egg development was delayed during the first two weeks, and VI percentages were significantly lower than in CF (p = 0.001). It is concluded that the preparation of gelatins with chlamydospores of parasiticidal fungi and their subsequent dehydration offer an edible formulation that is ready to use, stress-free to supply, and easy to store, as well as being well-accepted by ruminants and highly efficient to reduce the risk of Trichuris sp. infection among animals under continuous grazing regimes.