Roundworms in calves. Toxocariasis in calves

Verification of Toxocara vitulorum in Uruguayan Holando calves, dairy basin in the south of the country

Abstract

A case of worms in calves is described, caused by nematodes of the species Toxocara vitulorum (formerly Neoascaris vitulorum Goeze 1,782) in an establishment dedicated to the production of milk and meat, located in the department of Colonia (Oriental Republic of Uruguay) in the place known as Costas del Rosario, Police Section 18, Route 53. Affected animals of the Uruguayan Holando breed, born and raised in the establishment itself. This diagnosis in the south of the country, in the Montevideo dairy basin, in the department of Colonia, gives clear guidelines for the presence of this parasite in Uruguayan cattle. This area, as we can see on the map, is far (km) from the border with Brazil, where it was found for the first time in 1980. Toxocara vitulorum has been known for many years in Brazil, also in Argentina, a country bordering the Uruguay. Taking into account the cryma in Uruguay located in the temperate zone of the southern hemisphere, the means of dissemination (infectious eggs and larvae eggs) are very resistant; evolutionary cycle with migrations within the organism of cattle, transmission from the mother to the calves by transplacental route and by the milk of these infested cows a few days after parturition; rearing systems used in the dairy basin; receptivity of the Uruguayan Holando cattle that did not know this parasite; Attention is drawn to the possibility of a rapid spread and permanence of Toxocara vitulorum in Uruguayan cattle and especially in the dairy basin of Montevideo due to the concentration of cattle and special management in these southern departments of the country.