The effect of truncated infections with Ostertagia ostertagi on the development of acquired resistance in calves

The relative contribution of the third (L(3)), fourth (L(4)) and adult stages of Ostertagia ostertagi to the development of immunity was assessed in calves which were either continuously infected during 21 weeks or subjected to infections truncated by anthelmintic treatment at the L(3) or L(4) stage. A fourth group remained uninfected (control group). Faecal samples and blood samples were collected weekly for faecal egg counts and determination of pepsinogen and antibody levels. Only the continuously infected animals showed positive egg counts, which fell towards the end of the primary infection period. Pepsinogen and antibody levels remained high in the continuously infected group until the end of the primary infection period. At that time, they were significantly higher compared to the control calves, with intermediate values in the truncated infection groups. After the 21 weeks primary infection period all animals were dewormed. To evaluate the protection provided by the different immunisation protocols, all animals were challenged 1 week later with 156000 Ostertagia L(3), spread over 12 consecutive days. The marked reduction in egg counts following challenge infection indicated a certain degree of immunity in the continuously infected calves, which was confirmed at necropsy by the reduced worm burdens, the high percentage of inhibited early L(4) larvae, the reduced size of the adult worms and the higher numbers of mucosal mast cells in this group, Numbers of globule leucocytes and eosinophils were not significantly different from the control group. Infections truncated by anthelmintic treatment elicited poor development of immunity as shown by the egg output after the challenge infection and the percentages of arrested larvae and the lengths of adult worms which were intermediate to those of the continuously infected calves and control animals.