Blood samples obtained from 250 horses of various breeds belonging to the Gujarat Police Department and private horse breeders were screened for T. evansi using the Q.B.C. method. Results of the survey confirmed that the assay was sensitive for detecting T. evansi in blood from asymptomatic carrier equids. At this dilution, no parasites could be detected by conventional light microscopy examination. The results of this study indicate that the Q.B.C. procedure offers considerable promise as a rapid, practical field procedure for the detection of T. evansi in horses and possibly other species. Cyathostome transmission is distinctly seasonal because climatic factors regulate the development and survival of infective stages.
Conditions are ideal for transmission during autumn and spring in most regions.
The EL3 stage larvae may arrest development, thereby allowing worms to persist for up to 2.5 years after infection. LL3 and DL4 mature progressively and emerge from the cyst to become adult worms. The major damage from cyathostome infection occurs when larvae emerge from tissue cysts, but clinical disease is also associated with larval invasion of the mucosa. The objective of controlling cyathostome infections is prevention of environmental contamination with strongyle eggs. This can be accomplished by anthelmintic treatments repeated at prescribed intervals.