{"id":7912,"date":"2015-12-09T13:43:42","date_gmt":"2015-12-09T13:43:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmhealthonline.com\/?page_id=7912"},"modified":"2017-07-25T15:46:52","modified_gmt":"2017-07-25T14:46:52","slug":"haemonchus","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.farmhealthonline.com\/US\/disease-management\/sheep-diseases\/haemonchus\/","title":{"rendered":"Haemonchus<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

The main parasitic gastroenteritis in ruminants page can be found here<\/a>.

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Haemonchus contortus<\/em><\/h4>\n

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A general overview of the risk factors and control measures for parasitic gastroenteritis in ruminants<\/strong><\/a> has its own page on Farm Health Online. <\/div>\n

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\"Barbers<\/a><\/span>Haemonchus contortus <\/em>infects sheep, goats, deer, and cattle especially in warmer parts of the world. It is often referred to as the barbers pole worm due to its resemblance to the red and white barbers pole when the intestine is full following blood meal. It resides in the abomasum\u00a0of its ruminant host and is considered as a roundworm that makes up the parasitic gastroenteritis complex, however it does not conform to the typical pattern and can cause a breakdown in control so should be considered separately.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a>The main characteristics of this roundworm that need to be considered are:<\/p>\n

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  1. It is a blood feeder making it highly pathogenic<\/a><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Very fecund female worms<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Ewes build up little immunity<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Uses hypobiosis in order to persist through winter<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Also Causes Disease in Cattle<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Haemonchus<\/em> is a blood feeder<\/h3>\n

    Unlike the other gut roundworms often found in ruminants, H. contortus <\/em>is a blood feeder. It is the adult worms that cause harm as they have a piercing lancet at their head end which is used to cut to the mucosal lining in the abomasum, enabling them to suck blood. When the worms move on to feed at new sites the damaged mucosa continues to bleed. Each worm can remove about 0.05ml of blood per day so small ruminants with 5000 H. contortus<\/em> may lose about 250ml daily (Taylor et al<\/em>., 2007<\/a>).<\/p>\n

    Diarrhea\u00a0is not a characteristic symptom of haemonchiosis.<\/strong> Blood loss from heavy worm burdens leads to anemia, weakness, protein loss and sometimes death. Bottle jaw is a classic sign of haemonchosis as fluid builds up underneath the lower jaw.<\/p>\n

    <\/a>Infection with Haemonchus<\/em> can be categorized as either acute, sub-acute or chronic:<\/p>\n