2. INTRODUCTION
๏ Cooperia is a genus or parasitic roundworms.
๏ They are also called the small intestinal
roundworms
๏ They are a reddish color and can reach lengths of
up to 10mm
3. INTRODUCTION
๏ Female Cooperia worms lay very high numbers
of eggs and consequently can contribute heavily
to pasture contamination, increasing the risk of
disease in young cattle.
๏ Infects cattle, sheep, goats and other wild and
domestic ruminants.
๏ Cooperia species are found worldwide, but are
more abundant in regions with a warm and humid
weather.
4. Life cycle of Cooperia worms
๏ All Cooperia species have a direct life cycle.
๏ Adult females lay their eggs in the gut of the host
and these eggs are shed in the faeces.
๏ Once in the environment the eggs release the
L1-larvae that completes development to the
infective L3-larvae in about four days.
๏ Depending on the weather infective larvae can
survive on pasture between five and twelve
month.
5. Life cycle of Cooperia worms
๏ Livestock become infected after ingesting
infective larvae from pasture
๏ Livestock becomes infected after ingesting
infective larvae with pasture.
๏ In small intestine they complete development to
adult worms and females start laying eggs.
6.
7. Symptoms and diagnosis
๏ Diarrhea ( green or black).
๏ Dehydration and weight loss as a consequence
of poor food conversion.
๏ Cattle that are co-infected with Cooperia spp. and
other worm species such as Ostertagia are
morelikely to be affected by Parasitic
Gastroenteritis (PGE).
๏ Diagnosis is based on the clinical signs and
confirmed after detection of characteristic eggs in
the feces.
8. Prevention and control
๏ Being very resistant to adverse environmental
conditions, Cooperia larvae can survive up to 12
months on pasture, which makes it quite difficult
to reduce the populations.
๏ Numerous broad spectrum anthelmintics are
effective against adult worms and larvae, e.g.
๏ Benzimidazoles (albendazole, febantel, fenbenda
zole, oxfendazole)
