Effects of season, age and parasite management practices on gastro – intestinal parasites in pigs kept outdoors in Ireland

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However, gastro – intestinal (GI) parasites pose a significant health and welfare challenge for pigs reared outdoors. The aim of this study was to ascertain effects of management, season and animal factors such as age, on a range of different GI parasites in Irish pigs farmed outdoors. Sixty-five pig faecal samples (a mix from at least 2–4 animals per paddock) were collected from 65 paddocks across 20 outdoor pig farms, over two visits (1st visit – February/May-December 2023, n = 37, 2nd visit – July/October 2023, n = 28). Samples were collected and mixed thoroughly to achieve a paddock level sample. Data were also collected related to pig characteristics (grower/fatteners or sows and boars), anthelmintic usage (Yes/No) and paddock rotation (Yes/No) and categorized at paddock level. Samples were analysed using the McMaster floatation method, faecal egg count (FEC) was calculated, and GI parasites were identified by morphology. Generalized linear mixed models were used to analyse the effect of season, age, anthelmintic usage and paddock rotation on FEC. Four parasite taxa were identified ( Eimeria/Isospora spp., strongyles, Ascaris suum and Trichuris suis ). Infection rates were > 80% for Eimeria/Isospora spp. and strongyles, 31% for A. suum and 9% for T. suis for both visits. Eimeria/Isospora spp. FEC was higher at the 2nd visit (P < 0.001) and strongyles FEC was higher at the 1st visit (P < 0.05). Fattener pigs had higher FEC for Eimeria/Isospora spp. (P < 0.01) and sows/boars had higher strongyle counts (P < 0.05). Strongyle count was lower with anthelmintic use (P < 0.05) and Eimeria/Isospora spp. spp. count was lower (P = 0.05) with paddock rotation when anthelmintics were used. Lower winter temperatures may have influenced the seasonal variation in strongyle FEC. This study provides a comprehensive picture of GI parasites in outdoor pig farms in Ireland in terms of the taxa, their prevalence and risk factors. faecal egg count anthelmintic paddock rotation protozoa helminths strongyles Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Introduction Infection with gastro–intestinal (GI) parasites is a cause of ongoing and increasing concern in livestock production because of detrimental economic and animal welfare effects, which negatively impact sustainability of the industry ( 1 – 3 ). Detrimental implications for animal health are associated with morbidity, reduced feed conversion efficiency and growth, as well as treatment costs ( 4 , 5 ). Effective control of GI parasites requires a combined use of anti-parasitic drugs and management practices such as rotational grazing ( 6 ). Increasingly there are also concerns for resistance to treatment ( 7 ). GI parasites, particularly helminths, affect domestic pigs in all production systems around the world ( 8 ). In pigs, infections impair intestinal absorption, prolong the fattening period, delay or hamper immunity after vaccination, reduce meat quality, and in the case of young pigs, may cause death, due to diarrhoea and dehydration ( 9 , 10 ). In spite of the potential clinical implications, parasitic infections in pigs seldom cause clinical symptoms, especially in the case of helminths, and diagnosis is generally based on laboratory examination ( 8 , 10 ). The subclinical nature of helminth parasitic infection means that they receive less attention compared to other parasites in other livestock species. An additional risk of GI infections in pigs is the potential for zoonoses associated with helminth species such as Ascaris and Trichuris ( 11 ). While the majority of pigs in developed countries are farmed intensively indoors, the increasing interest in welfare-friendly meat means that there is growth in the outdoor pig production sector ( 12 ). Outdoor pig farming allows pigs to express a wider range of behaviours in a semi-natural environment ( 13 ). However, outdoor access increases the risk of both endo- and ecto-parasite infection, due to favourable conditions for the development and survival of various stages of parasites in the outdoor environment ( 14 ). Transmission occurs through ingestion of infective eggs, oocytes and larvae. Common parasites in outdoor pigs include protozoa (e.g. Eimeria spp., Isospora suis , Balantidium coli etc.) and helminths (e.g. strongyles, Ascaris suum , Trichuris suis , Metastrongylus spp.) ( 15 ). Several studies report the prevalence of a range of parasite species in outdoor reared pigs in Europe. Deslart et al. ( 16 ) assessed 70 alternative farms in France and reported 79% of the farms having coccidia and 47%, 16% and 36% of farms having Oesophagostomum spp., Ascaris suum and Trichuris suis respectively. There are also differences in the prevalence of parasites in different age groups of pigs ( 17 , 23 ). Carstensten et al. ( 18 ) assessed 9 organic pig herds in Denmark and found Ascaris suum, Oesophagostomum spp. and Trichuris suis among weaners, fatteners and sows with varying levels of prevalence. Băieş et al. ( 17 ) examined 960 free-range pigs in Romania and observed that the pigs had Eimeria spp., Balantidium coli , Ascaris suum , Oesophagostomum spp., S. ransomi and Cryptosporidium spp.. Furthermore, the abundance of parasites, and hence the potential infective pool in the paddock fluctuated with the seasons, indicating parasite sensitivity to temperature changes ( 17 , 19 ). Outdoor pig farming is not an established industry in the island of Ireland; instead, most outdoor farms operate on a small – scale, backyard basis rather than at a commercial level. Menant et al. ( 20 ) reported an average of 7 sows/gilts, one boar, 18 grower pigs and 17 piglets in these small scale production units at any one time, which were generally managed by two people. The main breeds were Duroc, Oxford Sandy and Black, Tamworth, and Gloucester old spot pigs. Pigs were reared in agro-forestry systems, on pasture or in a mixture of both. Considering the small-scale nature of the industry, it is poorly characterised, and literature on GI parasites is scarce. In order to address this knowledge gap, the objectives of this study were to: Identify and evaluate the prevalence of GI parasites in outdoor reared pigs on selected farms Determine the effect, if any, of season, and age on the parasite faecal egg counts of outdoor pigs Assess the effect of anthelmintic treatment and paddock rotation on the parasite egg burden of outdoor pigs Materials and methods Farms and animals Twenty farmers were selected from 57 respondents to the survey described by Menant et al. ( 20 ), and who expressed an interest in volunteering for the study. Farms were located in 12 out of 32 counties across the island of Ireland (Antrim − 1, Clare − 1, Cork − 3, Down − 1, Galway − 1, Laois − 3, Louth − 1, Sligo − 1, Tipperary − 1, Waterford − 3, Wexford − 1, Wicklow − 3). Each farm was visited twice: once between February and May 2023, plus December 2023 (winter/spring, mean ± sd: temperature: 11 ± 4.3°C, relative humidity: 75.7 ± 11.2%, wind: 1.7 m/s) and once between July and October 2023 (summer/autumn, mean ± sd: temperature: 14.9 ± 4.3°C, relative humidity: 78.6 ± 8.6%, wind: 0.9 m/s). The first visit encompassed 19 farms, with 17 farms visited during the second phase (Table 1 ). All of the assessed farms had an electrified fenced outdoor area where the pigs had access to soil, and 6 operated to an organic standard (Table 1 ). The average size of the paddocks was 21.6 ha (range 0.02–323 ha) with an average of 32 (range 7–128 pigs) pigs per paddock. Information on animal demographics (breed, age) and management practices such as anthelmintic usage (yes/no) and paddock rotation (yes/no) were also collected (Table 1 ). Anthelmintic use and paddock rotation practices were recorded through semi-structured interviews with farmers. Farmers reported the life stage at which animals were administered anthelmintics by a veterinarian and the frequency of paddock rotation. Farms were classified as using anthelmintics ("Yes") if they had administered anthelmintics within the previous year and as not using anthelmintics ("No") if they had never administered them. The frequency of anthelmintic use varied among farms, ranging from administration after weaning, three times per year, to only when deemed necessary. Among the farms that practiced paddock rotation, one farm rotated weekly, two farms rotated every two weeks, three farms rotated monthly, one farm rotated every six weeks, two farms rotated bimonthly, three farms rotated every four months, and one farm rotated annually. Pigs were raised on natural or sown pastures. In the agroforestry systems, the underfoot surface was a litter layer. Pigs older than 3 months were selected for inclusion, while lactating sows and piglets under 3 months old were excluded due to practical issues with data collection and the aggressive nature of the lactating sow. Animals were stratified into two age categories: fatteners (comprising growing and finishing pigs under 8 months old) and sows and boars (encompassing sows and boars aged 9 months to 4 years, Table 1 ). Sample collection A maximum of 4 faecal samples were collected in each paddock in which pigs were present. The pigs were observed until defecating freely, samples were promptly collected after voiding, then placed into 100 ml plastic cups, and stored in a cool box under chilled conditions (0–4°C). Each sample within a paddock was combined in equal proportions to create a composite paddock-level sample. Only faecal samples with solid nature were collected. In total, 65 composite paddock level samples were collected over the two visits (Table 1 ), 37 samples in the first visit, and 28 samples during the second visit. These samples were maintained under chilled conditions during transportation and stored in a cold room at 4°C until the coprological analysis was conducted. All samples were analysed within 21 days after collection. Table 1 Characteristics of the farms visited and number of paddocks assessed. Farm no Breeds Organic system Visit Age Anthelmintic use Paddock rotation 1st 2nd Fatteners Sows/boars Yes No Yes No 1 Duroc, GOS, OSB, Tamworth No √ √ √ √ √ √ 2 Duroc, OSB Yes √ √ √ √ √ √ 3 Duroc, Hampshire, Large Black, OSB Yes √ √ √ √ √ √ 4 Berkshire, OSB, Tamworth Yes √ √ √ √ √ √ 5 Duroc, OSB No √ √ √ √ √ √ 6 British saddleback, Duroc, GOS, Hampshire No √ √ √ √ √ √ 7 OSB, OSB cross breeds No √ √ √ √ √ √ 8 OSB No √ √ √ √ √ √ 9 OSB No √ √ √ × √ √ 10 Tamworth, Vietnamese pot bellied Yes √ √ √ √ √ √ 11 Tamworth Yes √ √ √ √ √ √ 12 Duroc, OSB, Tamworth No √ √ √ √ √ √ 13 Large Black, Middle White, Tamworth No √ √ √ √ √ √ 14 Duroc, British Saddleback Yes √ × × √ √ √ 15 Kune Kune, Idaho pasture pigs No √ × √ √ √ √ 16 Duroc, GOS, Landrace No √ × √ √ √ √ 17 Mangalista No √ √ √ √ √ √ 18 Berkshire, Duroc, Large White No √ √ √ × √ √ 19 Landrace, Large White No √ √ √ √ √ √ 20 Duroc, OSB No × √ √ √ √ √ Number of paddocks 65 37 28 29 36 27 38 59 6 GOS: Gloucester Old Spot, OSB: Oxford Sandy and Black Coprological analysis A modified McMaster floatation method described by Taylor et al. ( 15 ) was employed for the analysis of faecal egg count (FEC), employing NaCl as the floating solution. Initially, 3g of faecal matter from the composite sample was placed into a mortar and homogenized with 42ml of chilled water (0–4°C). The resulting homogenized sample was sieved through a 150 µm sieve, and the filtrate was transferred to a 15 ml centrifugal tube, which was subsequently centrifuged at 1500 rpm for 2 min. The supernatant was removed after centrifugation and added saturated NaCl solution. A vortex disrupted the pellet to ensure thorough mixing. The tubes were inverted 8–10 times, and the mixture was pipetted from the middle of the tube and transferred to a two-chambered McMaster slide. Subsequently, the grid of the slide was examined using a microscope (Alphaphot – 2 YS2, Nikon Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) at 10x magnification to detect parasite eggs. Parasite eggs and protozoa cysts were identified based on their morphology ( 15 ), and the number of different eggs in the grid per chamber were counted. The technique had a lower limit of 50 eggs/g per sample. Three replicates (slides) were analysed for each faecal sample. The analysis was performed by one trained person. The FEC is displayed as eggs per gram of faeces (eggs/g) and calculated using the following equation: $$\:Faecal\:egg\:count=\left(egg\:count\:in\:chamber\:01+egg\:count\:in\:chamber\:02\right)\times\:50$$ Statistical analysis Statistical analysis of the data were performed using Rstudio (R version 4.2.1, R core team, 2022). Prevalence of parasites within visits Prevalence at the farm level was determined considering the presence or absence of parasite eggs or oocysts. A farm was considered infected with a parasite if at least one egg was detected. The prevalence value for a parasite taxon was calculated as a percentage of farms infected from the number of all the farms for both visits separately. Fisher’s exact test was used to analyse the prevalence of a parasite between visits. Effect of the season and age on the faecal egg count A Generalized Linear Mixed Effect Model, utilizing the glmmTMB package ( 21 ) was employed to investigate the impact of season and age on the FEC. To address the zero-inflation observed in the data, we applied a negative binomial distribution with a log link function, along with zero-inflated adjustments. Fixed effects included season and age while paddock nested within farm was considered as a random effect to account for potential clustering effects. The interaction between season and age was considered. Subsequently, a Type III Analysis of Variance (ANOVA from car package; 22) was conducted to validate the model's findings. Estimated marginal means were then derived for further interpretation of the results and pairwise comparisons (emmeans package; 23) between the visits and the age groups were conducted. Effect of using anthelmintics and paddock rotation on the faecal egg count A similar Generalized Linear Mixed Effect Model was used to analyse the effect of using anthelmintics and paddock rotation on FEC. Anthelmintic usage, paddock rotation, and their interaction were included as fixed effects, while paddock nested within farm was used as a random effect. Results Parasite taxa We identified four taxa of parasite eggs based on egg morphology (Fig. 1 ). They were Eimeria/Isospora spp., strongyles, Ascaris suum and Trichuris suis . Strongyles were grouped because several species ( Oesophagostomum spp. etc.) have similar morphology making it impossible to identify to species level. Prevalence of parasites Prevalence of Eimeria/Isospora spp. and strongyles was high (> 80%) at both visits and Ascaris suum prevalence was moderate, at approx. 30%. T. suis was found on one farm during the 1st visit and on two farms on the 2nd visit (Table 2 ). There was no significant effect of the visit on the prevalence of each parasite (Table 2 ). Table 2 – Number and percentage of farms with the presence and absence of gastro-intestinal parasites during the two visits (Fisher’s exact test to determine the significance between farms in two visits). Season 1st visit (19 farms) 2nd visit (17 farms) P - value Present Absent Present Absent Eimeria/Isospora spp. 16 (84%) 3 (16%) 16 (94%) 1 (6%) N.S N.S. N.S. N.S. Strongyles 17 (89%) 2 (11%) 14 (82%) 3 (18%) Ascaris suum 6 (32%) 13 (68%) 5 (29%) 12 (71%) Trichuris suis 1 (5%) 18(95%) 2 (12%) 15 (88%) N.S – Not Significant Effect of season and age on faecal egg count Eimeria/Isospora spp. count was higher during the 2nd visit compared to the 1st visit (Estimated marginal means ± sd; 1st visit – 476 ± 297 vs 2nd visit – 1527 ± 950 eggs/g; P < 0.001, Fig. 2 .a). Furthermore, fattener pigs had higher Eimeria/Isospora spp. FEC than sows and boars (fatteners – 1175 ± 745 vs sows/boars – 619 ± 386 eggs/g; P < 0.05, Fig. 3 .a). Strongyle FEC was higher in the 1st visit than in the 2nd visit (1st visit – 370 ± 198 vs 2nd visit – 141 ± 77 eggs/g; P < 0.01, Fig. 2 .b) and sows/boars had higher strongyle FEC than fatteners (fatteners – 125 ± 71 vs sows and boars – 419 ± 223 eggs/g; P < 0.01, Fig. 3 .b). There was no interactive effect between season and age in the analysis. There was no effect of season or age for Ascaris suum FEC (Figs. 2 .c and 3.c). Since Trichuris suis was found on only two farms it was not statistically analysed. Effect of using anthelmintics and paddock rotation on faecal egg count The farms that used anthelmintics had lower strongyle FEC in both seasons (Yes: 48.2 ± 37.6 eggs/g, No: 668.3 ± 381.7 eggs/g; P < 0.01, Fig. 4 .a). Neither Ascaris suum nor Eimeria/Isospora spp. FEC levels were affected by anthelmintic use (Fig. 4 .b.c). There was no effect of paddock rotation on Eimeria/Isospora spp., strongyles or on Ascaris FEC (Fig. 5 ). There was no interaction between paddock rotation and use of anthelmintics. However the use of anthelmintics in the farms influenced paddock rotation in the additive model and the farms which practiced paddock rotation had lower levels of Eimeria/Isospora spp. FEC when anthelmintics was administered (Anthelmintics yes, paddock rotation yes – 1629 ± 651 eggs/g vs Anthelmintics yes, paddock rotation no – 7188 ± 5646 eggs/g; P = 0.05). Discussion This study provides the first data on the prevalence of a range of taxa of GI parasites found in pigs produced outdoors on the island of Ireland. The only other work on pig GI parasites conducted in Ireland reported on liver damage caused by Ascaris suum in intensively produced pigs ( 24 ). In the present study, season, age of the pig, and the anthelmintic usage had significant effects on FEC related to both Eimeria/Isospora spp. and strongyles and influenced paddock rotation with Eimeria/Isospora spp. counts. Prevalence of the parasites A high proportion (> 80%) of the farms were affected by Eimeria/Isospora spp. and strongyles at both visits. Similarly, a Romanian study found a high prevalence of Eimeria spp. during both summer (80%) and winter (77.5%) and with a somewhat lower prevalence for strongyles ( Oesophagostomum spp.); 27.5% during summer and 37.5% during winter ( 17 ). The oocysts of Eimeria spp. show great resistance to environmental conditions, making high prevalence and year round presence possible in pigs ( 25 ). The high prevalence of strongyles could also be due to year round shedding of the eggs by the adult worms. Thus, even though the eggs have a low resistance to climatic extremes, compared with other helminth eggs, the possibility of the hatched larvae being ingested is present throughout the year, even while the burden differs. Prevalence of Ascaris suum (30%) affected farms in this study was more or less similar to some other studies conducted in Europe across all farm systems. Ascaris suum had a 28.6% prevalence in Poland, from 70 pig farms ( 10 ). A study in Estonia found 31.5% prevalence of Ascaris suum in ecological and small pig farms (n = 20 farms; 26). Free-range farms in Netherlands had a 50% prevalence of Ascaris suum (n = 27 farms; 27) and Rodrigues Da Costa et al. ( 24 ) found, 30% of the commercial pig farms in Ireland had pigs with milk spots, which occurs due to Ascaris suum . The observed similar prevalence (30%) suggesting that outdoor pigs may have no greater a risk of A. suum infection than those raised indoors although the different method of estimation should be considered (i.e. milk spots vs egg counts). In the present research, very few farms were affected by Trichuris suis as evidenced by the low presence of faecal eggs (one in the 1st visit, (5%), and 2 in the 2nd visit, (12%)). Other studies recorded a much higher proportion of farms (ranging from 21.4 to 37.5%) affected by this parasite ( 10 , 27 ). However, the relatively quick expulsion of adults, and thus egg-laying individuals, by the host reduces the value of FEC alone in assessing prevalence of this helminth species among hosts ( 6 ). Effect of season and age on the faecal egg count In intensive systems, Symeonidou et al. ( 28 ) found that Crisoisospora suis , a coccidia species similar to Eimeria spp., tended to have a lower burden of oocysts in winter compared to spring. Another investigation by Băieş et al. ( 17 ) found a different parasitic load of Eimeria spp. between the seasons winter/spring (higher) and summer/autumn (lower). In this study, the highest mean number of Eimeria/Isospora spp. oocysts was recorded in the 2nd visit, which was during late summer/autumn. Eimeria oocysts can die when the temperature is colder (-20°C) or hotter (38°C), as in the case of Eimeria bovis , a coccidia which infects cows ( 29 ). Mild summer temperatures, such as those that occur in Ireland (mean temperatures between 14–15°C; ( 30 , 31 )) result in favourable conditions for the Eimeria oocysts to become infective, causing the higher FEC during the summer and autumn month periods. Infection from strongyles occurs from the L3 infective larval stage. Eggs are passed through faeces, hatch, and develop infective larvae, which are ingested by the pigs ( 32 ). Harsh, cold, winters and dry, hot, summers have detrimental effects on Oesophagostomum spp. eggs, leading to higher mortality rates ( 33 ). According to Nansen and Roepstorff ( 30 ), the lower temperature limit for the Oesophagostomum spp. is ̴10°C and the eggs deposited during the winter do not survive into the spring. Rose and Small (34) found that transmission of both Oesophagostomum spp. and Hyostrongylus rubidus could not take place during winter in British conditions. Even though a higher temperature average (> 7°C) was observed during the 1st visit, Irish winter air temperature averages are at 4–7°C (31). The highest mean faecal egg counts (FEC) of strongyle-type nematodes were observed during the 1st visit, conducted in late winter/spring. The strongyle lifecycle within the pig spans approximately 4–6 weeks (15). In outdoor environments, most eggs and free-living larvae do not survive the winter months due to harsh conditions. This results in a reduced larval load available for ingestion by pigs, leading to fewer mature adult worms and consequently lower FEC during the summer/autumn months. However, Ireland's mild summers, compared to other European countries, may not significantly affect the survival of eggs and free-living larvae. This could contribute to the higher FEC observed during the winter/spring period, as larvae surviving through the summer are ingested by pigs and develop into adult worms capable of producing eggs during these colder months. During this study, the faecal egg counts of Ascaris suum and Trichuris suis did not differ between the two visits, although they were present on only 30% of the farms visited. The eggs of these parasites are more resistant to environmental conditions, which could explain the consistency of their counts relative to those of strongyles ( 35 ). Several studies mention significant differences in the FEC between pigs of different ages in terms of Eimeria spp. and strongyles ( 16 , 17 , 36 ). In the present analysis, fattener pigs had higher mean FEC for Eimeria/Isospora spp. while the sows and boars had higher mean FEC for strongyles. Older animals (sows and boars) have stronger immunity towards Eimeria spp. due to frequent contact with Eimeria spp. and other coccidia ( 16 ). This could explain the lower FEC in these older animals. In contrast, the patterns for strongyles such as Oesophagostomum spp. and Hyostrongylus rubidus were of higher parasite intensity with increasing host age ( 18 ). Oesophagostomum spp. has low immunogenicity, resulting in almost all larvae surviving into maturity and living inside the pig for 2–4 months ( 8 ) thus the higher strongyles FEC observed during our study in these older animals. In contrast, Ascaris suum and Trichuris suis have high immunogenicity and a large majority of larvae are expelled from the small intestine, leaving a small number of mature worms inside the animal ( 8 ). The results of this study did not indicate an age effect on FEC; however, in several studies from other European countries the prevalence and intensity of A. suum and T. suis differed across age groups (intensity lowered with the age of the animal) ( 18 , 26 ). Effect of using anthelmintics and paddock rotation on the FEC Ireland, being a member of the European Union, has a list of approved anthelmintics for use in pigs. In our study only 7 of the 20 farms administered anthelmintics to their pigs. As the results indicated, the farms using anthelmintics had significantly lower strongyle counts. Indeed, the use of anthelmintics on strongyle species such as Oesophagostomum spp. is highly effective, even though anthelmintic resistance is an emerging issue ( 6 ). Although other studies show high efficacy (in some studies > 90%) of anthelmintics on Ascaris suum , regardless of the class used ( 6 , 37 ), the present study did not find an effect of anthelmintic use on Ascaris suum FEC. However, only 3 of the 7 farms that used anthelmintics had Ascaris suum and this may have influenced the sensitivity of the analysis. Paddock rotation is an important management method to control parasites. Anthelmintics alone are not effective in the long -run, as parasites and eggs can survive in the soil or be re-introduced by other reservoirs ( 38 ) so re-infection is inevitable. This could explain why in this study, the FEC of Eimeria/Isospora spp. in the farms that practised paddock rotation was low even when the use of anthelmintics was taken into account. Conclusions This analysis observed seasonal variation in the FEC of Eimeria/Isospora spp. and strongyles, with Eimeria spp. levels higher in the spring, and strongyle levels higher in the autumn. Grower and fattener pigs had higher Eimeria/Isospora spp. counts while sows and boars had higher strongyle counts, indicating different parasite community dynamics in different age groups. Anthelmintic usage seems to be effective against strongyles, and paddock rotation tended to reduce Eimeria/Isospora spp. counts in the presence of anthelmintics. There is a lack of data on GI parasites in Irish pigs, particularly those kept outdoors, and this study sheds light on the factors that could affect their prevalence. Abbreviations GI Gastro–intestinal FEC Faecal egg count Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate This study was approved by the Teagasc ethics committee (TAEC2022-344) Consent for publication Not applicable. Funding This study was funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in Ireland (Grant number 2021R600). Data availability All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article Authors' contributions N.S.S participated in the sample of fieldwork, conducted the analysis, and wrote the first draft. K.OD. designed and supervised the analysis and revised the article. L.B. designed and supervised the project and revised the article. O.M. designed and participated in the sampling of fieldwork, supervised the analyses and revised the article. F.B. designed, supervised and revised the article. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Élodie Peyrard, Laura Frigerio, Camille Ducher and Lilou Soler for their assistance during the sampling in the field. References Charlier J, Rinaldi L, Musella V, Ploeger HW, Chartier C, Vineer HR, et al. 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Occurrence of intestinal parasites in pigs in Poland - the influence of factors related to the production system. J Vet Res . 2017 Dec 1;61(4):459–66; DOI: 10.1515/jvetres-2017-0064. Nejsum P, Betson M, Bendall RP, Thamsborg SM, Stothard JR. Assessing the zoonotic potential of Ascaris suum and Trichuris suis : looking to the future from an analysis of the past. J Helminthol. 2012 Jun;86(2):148–55; DOI: 10.1017/S0022149X12000193. Thorslund CAH, Aaslyng MD, Lassen J. Perceived importance and responsibility for market-driven pig welfare: Literature review. Meat Sci . 2017 Mar;125:37–45; DOI: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2016.11.020. Delsart M, Pol F, Dufour B, Rose N, Fablet C. Pig Farming in Alternative Systems: Strengths and Challenges in Terms of Animal Welfare, Biosecurity, Animal Health and Pork Safety. Agriculture. 2020 Jul 2;10(7):261; DOI: 10.3390/agriculture10070261. Salajpal K, Karolyi D, Luković Z. Sanitary aspects of outdoor farming systems. AAS-S. 2013 Sep 25;(4):109–17. Taylor, M.A., Coop, R.L., Wall RL. Veterinary Parasitology. Vol. Fourth edi, . 2016. Delsart M, Fablet C, Rose N, Répérant JM, Blaga R, Dufour B, et al. Descriptive Epidemiology of the Main Internal Parasites on Alternative Pig Farms in France. J Parasitol . 2022 Jul 25;108(4); https://doi.org/10.1645/21-126 Băieş MH, Boros Z, Gherman CM, Spînu M, Mathe A, Pataky S, et al. Prevalence of Swine Gastrointestinal Parasites in Two Free-Range Farms from Nord-West Region of Romania. Pathogens. 2022 Aug 23;11(9):954; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11090954. Carstensen L, Vaarst M, Roepstorff A. Helminth infections in Danish organic swine herds. Vet Parasitol . 2002 Jun;106(3):253–64; https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-4017(02)00009-0. Miao ZH, Glatz PC, Ru YJ. Review of Production, Husbandry and Sustainability of Free-range Pig Production Systems. Asian Australas J Anim Sci. 2004 Jan 1;17(11):1615–34; https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.2004.1615. Menant O, Mullen S, Butler F, Boyle L, O'Driscoll K. Characterizing outdoor pig systems in Ireland. In: Book of Abstracts of the 74th Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Animal Science. Wageningen Academic Publishers; 2023. Brooks M E, Kristensen K, Benthem K J ,van, Magnusson A, Berg C W, Nielsen A, et al. glmmTMB Balances Speed and Flexibility Among Packages for Zero-inflated Generalized Linear Mixed Modeling. The R Journal. 2017;9(2):378; https://doi.org/10.32614/RJ-2017-066. Fox J, Friendly GG, Graves S, Heiberger R, Monette G, Nilsson H, Ripley B, Weisberg S, Fox MJ, Suggests MA. The car package. R Foundation for Statistical computing. 2007 Oct 27;1109:1431. Lenth RV. emmeans: Estimated Marginal Means, aka Least-Squares Means . R package version 1.8.9. 2023. Available from: https://cran.r-project.org/package=emmeans. Rodrigues Da Costa M, Fitzgerald RM, Manzanilla EG, O’Shea H, Moriarty J, McElroy MC, et al. A cross-sectional survey on respiratory disease in a cohort of Irish pig farms. Ir Vet J. 2020 Dec;73(1):24; https://doi.org/10.1186/s13620-020-00175-0 Chartier C, Paraud C. Coccidiosis due to Eimeria in sheep and goats, a review. Small Rumin Res . 2012 Mar;103(1):84–92; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2011.10.022. Toivo J, Erika M. Pig endoparasites in Estonia. In: Animals. Health. Food Hygiene. Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference ; 2008 Nov 14; Jelgava, Latvia. p. 54-58. Eijck IAJM, Borgsteede FHM. A Survey of Gastrointestinal Pig Parasites on Free-range, Organic and Conventional Pig Farms in The Netherlands. Vet Res Commun. 2005 Jul;29(5):407–14; https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-005-1218-4. Symeonidou I, Tassis P, Gelasakis AΙ, Tzika ED, Papadopoulos E. Prevalence and Risk Factors of Intestinal Parasite Infections in Greek Swine Farrow-To-Finish Farms. Pathogens. 2020 Jul 10;9(7):556; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9070556. Lassen B, Lepik T, Bangoura B. Persistence of Eimeria bovis in soil. Parasitol Res. 2013 Jul;112(7):2481–6; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-013-3410-1. Nansen P, Roepstorff A. Parasitic helminths of the pig: Factors influencing transmission and infection levels. Int J Parasitol. 1999;29(6):877–91; https://doi.org/10.1016/S0020-7519(99)00048-0. Curley M, Coonan B, Ryan C, Ruth CE. Ireland’s Climatological Standard Normals (CLINO) 1991-2020. EMS Annual Meeting 2023, Bratislava, Slovakia, 4–8 Sep 2023. Zimmerman JJ,. Diseases of swine. 10th ed. Hoboken (NJ): John Wiley & Sons; 2012. Mejer H, Wendt S, Thomsen LE, Roepstorff A, Hindsbo O. Nose-Rings and Transmission of Helminth Parasites in Outdoor Pigs. Acta Vet Scand. 2000 Jun;41(2):153–65; https://doi.org/10.1186/1751-0147-41-153. Rose JH, Small AJ. Observations on the effect of anthelmintic treatment on the transmission of Hyostrongylus rubidus and Oesophagostomum spp. among sows at pasture. J Helminthol. 1983;57(1):1-8; https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022149X0002320X Roepstorff A, Murrell KD. Transmission dynamics of helminth parasites of pigs on continuous pasture: Ascaris suum and Trichuris suis. Int J Parasitol . 1997;27(5):563–72; https://doi.org/10.1016/S0020-7519(96)00260-5. Jacobs DE, Dunn AM. Helminths of Scottish pigs: occurrence, age incidences and seasonal variations. J Helminthol. 1969;43(3-4):327-40. doi:10.1017/S0022149X00004880. Boes J, Kanora A, Havn KT, Christiansen S, Vestergaard-Nielsen K, Jacobs J, et al. Effect of Ascaris suum infection on performance of fattening pigs. Vet Parasitol . 2010 Sep;172(3–4):269–76; https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-4017(00)00297-1. Olsen A, Permin A, Roepstorff A. Chickens and pigs as transport hosts for Ascaris , Trichuris and Oesophagostomum eggs. Parasitology . 2001;123(3):325-30. doi:10.1017/S0031182001008435. Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6056560","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":431631636,"identity":"f8ed9831-23da-4e3c-99a0-fe80139d8a09","order_by":0,"name":"Nipuna Sahan Senanayake","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Teagasc Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nipuna","middleName":"Sahan","lastName":"Senanayake","suffix":""},{"id":431631637,"identity":"3ab00360-7c5e-475c-b1c0-1b72aa6b0663","order_by":1,"name":"Laura Boyle","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Teagasc Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Laura","middleName":"","lastName":"Boyle","suffix":""},{"id":431631638,"identity":"db07d562-f329-4ac1-9553-0755bb3b4bfb","order_by":2,"name":"Keelin O’Driscoll","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Teagasc Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Keelin","middleName":"","lastName":"O’Driscoll","suffix":""},{"id":431631639,"identity":"6bda01ca-d9e4-48cd-9553-26f378f6acfa","order_by":3,"name":"Ophélie Menant","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Teagasc Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ophélie","middleName":"","lastName":"Menant","suffix":""},{"id":431631640,"identity":"a9ab03d5-4b15-495c-9bdc-670faba33454","order_by":4,"name":"Fidelma Butler","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAr0lEQVRIie3QMQrCMBTG8QcFXQpZI17ig0BRKO1VCoFMgh07ujm6ehLnSMGpB8jq4pwDCDVkcutzc3j/7YP8SAiRJP1hrVeeqCdSeYJBQGVHPp3cnH4gyASe+7BE3DaiPppgn5H6epm0pB7aw+1vwRlNcLxbEhlRhcMqzZFFqkRmmGsmM5t4QGfiGaQo7W6ChZ5eRnewDLK+3MMwNFDn9GPx3SwTKr5HxwCSJEkSow+IpC/gazbAXQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"University College Cork","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Fidelma","middleName":"","lastName":"Butler","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-02-18 13:23:10","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6056560/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6056560/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":78950196,"identity":"f610dfe5-1496-447c-b3e4-fc68c94d0961","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-03-21 08:47:31","extension":"jpeg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":557906,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003ePhotographs of \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora \u003c/em\u003espp\u003cem\u003e.\u003c/em\u003e oocyst (a.), strongyle eggs (b.), \u003cem\u003eAscaris suum\u003c/em\u003e egg (c.) and \u003cem\u003eTrichuris suis\u003c/em\u003e egg (d.) identified on bright-field microscope (20x magnification)\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage1.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6056560/v1/7d39c7b813504e1d7923d7aa.jpeg"},{"id":78950194,"identity":"c46f1883-c9ce-481e-babb-f3f18770af0f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-03-21 08:47:31","extension":"jpeg","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":60141,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMedian and quartiles of (a) \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora \u003c/em\u003espp., (b) strongyles and (c) \u003cem\u003eA. suum\u003c/em\u003e faecal egg counts (FEC) during the 1\u003csup\u003est\u003c/sup\u003e (blue) and 2\u003csup\u003end\u003c/sup\u003e visit (green) (1\u003csup\u003est\u003c/sup\u003e visit – winter/spring, 2\u003csup\u003end\u003c/sup\u003e visit – summer/autumn).\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage2.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6056560/v1/22c4a53af23c0ffd52cf9d37.jpeg"},{"id":78951468,"identity":"39ac8fde-22f1-4e02-9b30-9788896548ea","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-03-21 09:03:31","extension":"jpeg","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":60326,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMedian and quartiles of (a) \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora \u003c/em\u003espp\u003cem\u003e.\u003c/em\u003e, (b) strongyles and (c) \u003cem\u003eA. suum\u003c/em\u003e faecal egg counts in relation to fatteners (black) and sows/boars (white)\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage3.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6056560/v1/d1771c745288a99512a72970.jpeg"},{"id":78951097,"identity":"ec876a33-5c10-4453-a069-261aaebc7b75","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-03-21 08:55:31","extension":"png","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":13000,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMedian and quartiles of (a) \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora \u003c/em\u003espp., (b) strongyles and (c) \u003cem\u003eA. suum\u003c/em\u003e in relation to anthelmintic usage (Yes – Brown, No – Yellow)\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6056560/v1/9ba683c1e8a63c53c9576bb7.png"},{"id":78951098,"identity":"821b74c8-dd3e-4f8b-9f5d-ba59fa607a70","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-03-21 08:55:31","extension":"jpeg","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":55605,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMedian and quartiles of (a) \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora \u003c/em\u003espp., (b) strongyles and (c) \u003cem\u003eA. suum\u003c/em\u003e in relation to paddock rotation (Yes – grey, No – light blue)\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage5.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6056560/v1/4caced70e00029b8dd7c4543.jpeg"},{"id":78952623,"identity":"be970844-abb2-44ef-be78-b3bd91fc2965","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-03-21 09:19:32","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1821184,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6056560/v1/715b35d9-e140-42d0-9ca7-559689c5b045.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Effects of season, age and parasite management practices on gastro – intestinal parasites in pigs kept outdoors in Ireland","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eInfection with gastro\u0026ndash;intestinal (GI) parasites is a cause of ongoing and increasing concern in livestock production because of detrimental economic and animal welfare effects, which negatively impact sustainability of the industry (\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR2\" citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e). Detrimental implications for animal health are associated with morbidity, reduced feed conversion efficiency and growth, as well as treatment costs (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e). Effective control of GI parasites requires a combined use of anti-parasitic drugs and management practices such as rotational grazing (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e). Increasingly there are also concerns for resistance to treatment (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e). GI parasites, particularly helminths, affect domestic pigs in all production systems around the world (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e). In pigs, infections impair intestinal absorption, prolong the fattening period, delay or hamper immunity after vaccination, reduce meat quality, and in the case of young pigs, may cause death, due to diarrhoea and dehydration (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e). In spite of the potential clinical implications, parasitic infections in pigs seldom cause clinical symptoms, especially in the case of helminths, and diagnosis is generally based on laboratory examination (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e). The subclinical nature of helminth parasitic infection means that they receive less attention compared to other parasites in other livestock species. An additional risk of GI infections in pigs is the potential for zoonoses associated with helminth species such as \u003cem\u003eAscaris\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eTrichuris\u003c/em\u003e (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhile the majority of pigs in developed countries are farmed intensively indoors, the increasing interest in welfare-friendly meat means that there is growth in the outdoor pig production sector (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e). Outdoor pig farming allows pigs to express a wider range of behaviours in a semi-natural environment (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e). However, outdoor access increases the risk of both endo- and ecto-parasite infection, due to favourable conditions for the development and survival of various stages of parasites in the outdoor environment (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e). Transmission occurs through ingestion of infective eggs, oocytes and larvae. Common parasites in outdoor pigs include protozoa (e.g. \u003cem\u003eEimeria\u003c/em\u003e spp., \u003cem\u003eIsospora suis\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eBalantidium coli\u003c/em\u003e etc.) and helminths (e.g. strongyles, \u003cem\u003eAscaris suum\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eTrichuris suis\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eMetastrongylus\u003c/em\u003e spp.) (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e). Several studies report the prevalence of a range of parasite species in outdoor reared pigs in Europe. Deslart et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e) assessed 70 alternative farms in France and reported 79% of the farms having coccidia and 47%, 16% and 36% of farms having \u003cem\u003eOesophagostomum\u003c/em\u003e spp., \u003cem\u003eAscaris suum\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eTrichuris suis\u003c/em\u003e respectively. There are also differences in the prevalence of parasites in different age groups of pigs (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e). Carstensten et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e) assessed 9 organic pig herds in Denmark and found \u003cem\u003eAscaris suum, Oesophagostomum\u003c/em\u003e spp. and \u003cem\u003eTrichuris suis\u003c/em\u003e among weaners, fatteners and sows with varying levels of prevalence. Băieş et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e) examined 960 free-range pigs in Romania and observed that the pigs had \u003cem\u003eEimeria\u003c/em\u003e spp., \u003cem\u003eBalantidium coli\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eAscaris suum\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eOesophagostomum\u003c/em\u003e spp., \u003cem\u003eS. ransomi\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eCryptosporidium\u003c/em\u003e spp.. Furthermore, the abundance of parasites, and hence the potential infective pool in the paddock fluctuated with the seasons, indicating parasite sensitivity to temperature changes (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOutdoor pig farming is not an established industry in the island of Ireland; instead, most outdoor farms operate on a small \u0026ndash; scale, backyard basis rather than at a commercial level. Menant et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e) reported an average of 7 sows/gilts, one boar, 18 grower pigs and 17 piglets in these small scale production units at any one time, which were generally managed by two people. The main breeds were Duroc, Oxford Sandy and Black, Tamworth, and Gloucester old spot pigs. Pigs were reared in agro-forestry systems, on pasture or in a mixture of both. Considering the small-scale nature of the industry, it is poorly characterised, and literature on GI parasites is scarce. In order to address this knowledge gap, the objectives of this study were to:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003col\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eIdentify and evaluate the prevalence of GI parasites in outdoor reared pigs on selected farms\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eDetermine the effect, if any, of season, and age on the parasite faecal egg counts of outdoor pigs\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eAssess the effect of anthelmintic treatment and paddock rotation on the parasite egg burden of outdoor pigs\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003c/ol\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Materials and methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eFarms and animals\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eTwenty farmers were selected from 57 respondents to the survey described by Menant et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e), and who expressed an interest in volunteering for the study. Farms were located in 12 out of 32 counties across the island of Ireland (Antrim \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1, Clare \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1, Cork \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;3, Down \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1, Galway \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1, Laois \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;3, Louth \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1, Sligo \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1, Tipperary \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1, Waterford \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;3, Wexford \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1, Wicklow \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;3). Each farm was visited twice: once between February and May 2023, plus December 2023 (winter/spring, mean\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;sd: temperature: 11\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;4.3\u0026deg;C, relative humidity: 75.7\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;11.2%, wind: 1.7 m/s) and once between July and October 2023 (summer/autumn, mean\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;sd: temperature: 14.9\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;4.3\u0026deg;C, relative humidity: 78.6\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;8.6%, wind: 0.9 m/s). The first visit encompassed 19 farms, with 17 farms visited during the second phase (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). All of the assessed farms had an electrified fenced outdoor area where the pigs had access to soil, and 6 operated to an organic standard (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). The average size of the paddocks was 21.6 ha (range 0.02\u0026ndash;323 ha) with an average of 32 (range 7\u0026ndash;128 pigs) pigs per paddock. Information on animal demographics (breed, age) and management practices such as anthelmintic usage (yes/no) and paddock rotation (yes/no) were also collected (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). Anthelmintic use and paddock rotation practices were recorded through semi-structured interviews with farmers. Farmers reported the life stage at which animals were administered anthelmintics by a veterinarian and the frequency of paddock rotation. Farms were classified as using anthelmintics (\"Yes\") if they had administered anthelmintics within the previous year and as not using anthelmintics (\"No\") if they had never administered them. The frequency of anthelmintic use varied among farms, ranging from administration after weaning, three times per year, to only when deemed necessary. Among the farms that practiced paddock rotation, one farm rotated weekly, two farms rotated every two weeks, three farms rotated monthly, one farm rotated every six weeks, two farms rotated bimonthly, three farms rotated every four months, and one farm rotated annually. Pigs were raised on natural or sown pastures. In the agroforestry systems, the underfoot surface was a litter layer. Pigs older than 3 months were selected for inclusion, while lactating sows and piglets under 3 months old were excluded due to practical issues with data collection and the aggressive nature of the lactating sow. Animals were stratified into two age categories: fatteners (comprising growing and finishing pigs under 8 months old) and sows and boars (encompassing sows and boars aged 9 months to 4 years, Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSample collection\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA maximum of 4 faecal samples were collected in each paddock in which pigs were present. The pigs were observed until defecating freely, samples were promptly collected after voiding, then placed into 100 ml plastic cups, and stored in a cool box under chilled conditions (0\u0026ndash;4\u0026deg;C). Each sample within a paddock was combined in equal proportions to create a composite paddock-level sample. Only faecal samples with solid nature were collected. In total, 65 composite paddock level samples were collected over the two visits (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e), 37 samples in the first visit, and 28 samples during the second visit. These samples were maintained under chilled conditions during transportation and stored in a cold room at 4\u0026deg;C until the coprological analysis was conducted. All samples were analysed within 21 days after collection.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCharacteristics of the farms visited and number of paddocks assessed.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"11\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c10\" colnum=\"10\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c11\" colnum=\"11\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFarm no\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBreeds\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOrganic system\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVisit\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnthelmintic use\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c11\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePaddock rotation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1st\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2nd\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFatteners\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSows/boars\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDuroc, GOS, OSB, Tamworth\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDuroc, OSB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDuroc, Hampshire, Large Black, OSB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBerkshire, OSB, Tamworth\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDuroc, OSB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBritish saddleback, Duroc, GOS, Hampshire\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOSB, OSB cross breeds\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOSB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOSB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTamworth, Vietnamese pot bellied\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTamworth\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDuroc, OSB, Tamworth\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLarge Black, Middle White, Tamworth\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDuroc, British Saddleback\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eKune Kune, Idaho pasture pigs\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDuroc, GOS, Landrace\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMangalista\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBerkshire, Duroc, Large White\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLandrace, Large White\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDuroc, OSB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026radic;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNumber of paddocks\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e65\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e37\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e28\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e29\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e36\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e38\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"11\"\u003eGOS: Gloucester Old Spot, OSB: Oxford Sandy and Black\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eCoprological analysis\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA modified McMaster floatation method described by Taylor et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e) was employed for the analysis of faecal egg count (FEC), employing NaCl as the floating solution. Initially, 3g of faecal matter from the composite sample was placed into a mortar and homogenized with 42ml of chilled water (0\u0026ndash;4\u0026deg;C). The resulting homogenized sample was sieved through a 150 \u0026micro;m sieve, and the filtrate was transferred to a 15 ml centrifugal tube, which was subsequently centrifuged at 1500 rpm for 2 min. The supernatant was removed after centrifugation and added saturated NaCl solution. A vortex disrupted the pellet to ensure thorough mixing. The tubes were inverted 8\u0026ndash;10 times, and the mixture was pipetted from the middle of the tube and transferred to a two-chambered McMaster slide. Subsequently, the grid of the slide was examined using a microscope (Alphaphot \u0026ndash; 2 YS2, Nikon Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) at 10x magnification to detect parasite eggs. Parasite eggs and protozoa cysts were identified based on their morphology (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e), and the number of different eggs in the grid per chamber were counted. The technique had a lower limit of 50 eggs/g per sample. Three replicates (slides) were analysed for each faecal sample. The analysis was performed by one trained person. The FEC is displayed as eggs per gram of faeces (eggs/g) and calculated using the following equation:\u003cdiv id=\"Equa\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equa\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\:Faecal\\:egg\\:count=\\left(egg\\:count\\:in\\:chamber\\:01+egg\\:count\\:in\\:chamber\\:02\\right)\\times\\:50$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eStatistical analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eStatistical analysis of the data were performed using Rstudio (R version 4.2.1, R core team, 2022).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePrevalence of parasites within visits\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePrevalence at the farm level was determined considering the presence or absence of parasite eggs or oocysts. A farm was considered infected with a parasite if at least one egg was detected. The prevalence value for a parasite taxon was calculated as a percentage of farms infected from the number of all the farms for both visits separately. Fisher\u0026rsquo;s exact test was used to analyse the prevalence of a parasite between visits.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eEffect of the season and age on the faecal egg count\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Generalized Linear Mixed Effect Model, utilizing the glmmTMB package (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e) was employed to investigate the impact of season and age on the FEC. To address the zero-inflation observed in the data, we applied a negative binomial distribution with a log link function, along with zero-inflated adjustments. Fixed effects included season and age while paddock nested within farm was considered as a random effect to account for potential clustering effects. The interaction between season and age was considered. Subsequently, a Type III Analysis of Variance (ANOVA from car package; 22) was conducted to validate the model's findings. Estimated marginal means were then derived for further interpretation of the results and pairwise comparisons (emmeans package; 23) between the visits and the age groups were conducted.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eEffect of using anthelmintics and paddock rotation on the faecal egg count\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA similar Generalized Linear Mixed Effect Model was used to analyse the effect of using anthelmintics and paddock rotation on FEC. Anthelmintic usage, paddock rotation, and their interaction were included as fixed effects, while paddock nested within farm was used as a random effect.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eParasite taxa\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe identified four taxa of parasite eggs based on egg morphology (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). They were \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora\u003c/em\u003e spp., strongyles, \u003cem\u003eAscaris suum\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eTrichuris suis\u003c/em\u003e. Strongyles were grouped because several species (\u003cem\u003eOesophagostomum\u003c/em\u003e spp. etc.) have similar morphology making it impossible to identify to species level.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003ePrevalence of parasites\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003ePrevalence of \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora\u003c/em\u003e spp. and strongyles was high (\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;80%) at both visits and \u003cem\u003eAscaris suum\u003c/em\u003e prevalence was moderate, at approx. 30%. \u003cem\u003eT. suis\u003c/em\u003e was found on one farm during the 1st visit and on two farms on the 2nd visit (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e). There was no significant effect of the visit on the prevalence of each parasite (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash; Number and percentage of farms with the presence and absence of gastro-intestinal parasites during the two visits (Fisher\u0026rsquo;s exact test to determine the significance between farms in two visits).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSeason\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1st visit (19 farms)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2nd visit (17 farms)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP - value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePresent\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAbsent\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePresent\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAbsent\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora\u003c/em\u003e spp.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16 (84%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 (16%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16 (94%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 (6%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN.S\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eN.S.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eN.S.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eN.S.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStrongyles\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17 (89%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 (11%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14 (82%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 (18%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAscaris suum\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6 (32%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13 (68%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 (29%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12 (71%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eTrichuris suis\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 (5%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18(95%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 (12%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15 (88%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"6\"\u003eN.S \u0026ndash; Not Significant\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eEffect of season and age on faecal egg count\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora\u003c/em\u003e spp. count was higher during the 2nd visit compared to the 1st visit (Estimated marginal means\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;sd; 1st visit \u0026ndash; 476\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;297 vs 2nd visit \u0026ndash; 1527\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;950 eggs/g; P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001, Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e.a). Furthermore, fattener pigs had higher \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora\u003c/em\u003e spp. FEC than sows and boars (fatteners \u0026ndash; 1175\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;745 vs sows/boars \u0026ndash; 619\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;386 eggs/g; P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05, Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e.a). Strongyle FEC was higher in the 1st visit than in the 2nd visit (1st visit \u0026ndash; 370\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;198 vs 2nd visit \u0026ndash; 141\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;77 eggs/g; P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01, Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e.b) and sows/boars had higher strongyle FEC than fatteners (fatteners \u0026ndash; 125\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;71 vs sows and boars \u0026ndash; 419\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;223 eggs/g; P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01, Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e.b). There was no interactive effect between season and age in the analysis. There was no effect of season or age for \u003cem\u003eAscaris suum\u003c/em\u003e FEC (Figs.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e.c and 3.c). Since \u003cem\u003eTrichuris suis\u003c/em\u003e was found on only two farms it was not statistically analysed.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eEffect of using anthelmintics and paddock rotation on faecal egg count\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe farms that used anthelmintics had lower strongyle FEC in both seasons (Yes: 48.2\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;37.6 eggs/g, No: 668.3\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;381.7 eggs/g; P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01, Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e.a). Neither \u003cem\u003eAscaris suum\u003c/em\u003e nor \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora\u003c/em\u003e spp. FEC levels were affected by anthelmintic use (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e.b.c).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThere was no effect of paddock rotation on \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora\u003c/em\u003e spp., strongyles or on \u003cem\u003eAscaris\u003c/em\u003e FEC (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e). There was no interaction between paddock rotation and use of anthelmintics. However the use of anthelmintics in the farms influenced paddock rotation in the additive model and the farms which practiced paddock rotation had lower levels of \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora\u003c/em\u003e spp. FEC when anthelmintics was administered (Anthelmintics yes, paddock rotation yes \u0026ndash; 1629\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;651 eggs/g vs Anthelmintics yes, paddock rotation no \u0026ndash; 7188\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;5646 eggs/g; P\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.05).\u003c/p\u003e "},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study provides the first data on the prevalence of a range of taxa of GI parasites found in pigs produced outdoors on the island of Ireland. The only other work on pig GI parasites conducted in Ireland reported on liver damage caused by \u003cem\u003eAscaris suum\u003c/em\u003e in intensively produced pigs (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e). In the present study, season, age of the pig, and the anthelmintic usage had significant effects on FEC related to both \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora\u003c/em\u003e spp. and strongyles and influenced paddock rotation with \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora\u003c/em\u003e spp. counts.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003ePrevalence of the parasites\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eA high proportion (\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;80%) of the farms were affected by \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora\u003c/em\u003e spp. and strongyles at both visits. Similarly, a Romanian study found a high prevalence of \u003cem\u003eEimeria\u003c/em\u003e spp. during both summer (80%) and winter (77.5%) and with a somewhat lower prevalence for strongyles (\u003cem\u003eOesophagostomum\u003c/em\u003e spp.); 27.5% during summer and 37.5% during winter (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe oocysts of \u003cem\u003eEimeria\u003c/em\u003e spp. show great resistance to environmental conditions, making high prevalence and year round presence possible in pigs (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e). The high prevalence of strongyles could also be due to year round shedding of the eggs by the adult worms. Thus, even though the eggs have a low resistance to climatic extremes, compared with other helminth eggs, the possibility of the hatched larvae being ingested is present throughout the year, even while the burden differs.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePrevalence of \u003cem\u003eAscaris suum\u003c/em\u003e (30%) affected farms in this study was more or less similar to some other studies conducted in Europe across all farm systems. \u003cem\u003eAscaris suum\u003c/em\u003e had a 28.6% prevalence in Poland, from 70 pig farms (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e). A study in Estonia found 31.5% prevalence of \u003cem\u003eAscaris suum\u003c/em\u003e in ecological and small pig farms (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;20 farms; 26). Free-range farms in Netherlands had a 50% prevalence of \u003cem\u003eAscaris suum\u003c/em\u003e (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;27 farms; 27) and Rodrigues Da Costa et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e) found, 30% of the commercial pig farms in Ireland had pigs with milk spots, which occurs due to \u003cem\u003eAscaris suum\u003c/em\u003e. The observed similar prevalence (30%) suggesting that outdoor pigs may have no greater a risk of \u003cem\u003eA. suum\u003c/em\u003e infection than those raised indoors although the different method of estimation should be considered (i.e. milk spots vs egg counts).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the present research, very few farms were affected by \u003cem\u003eTrichuris suis\u003c/em\u003e as evidenced by the low presence of faecal eggs (one in the 1st visit, (5%), and 2 in the 2nd visit, (12%)). Other studies recorded a much higher proportion of farms (ranging from 21.4 to 37.5%) affected by this parasite (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e). However, the relatively quick expulsion of adults, and thus egg-laying individuals, by the host reduces the value of FEC alone in assessing prevalence of this helminth species among hosts (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec17\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eEffect of season and age on the faecal egg count\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn intensive systems, Symeonidou et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e) found that \u003cem\u003eCrisoisospora suis\u003c/em\u003e, a coccidia species similar to \u003cem\u003eEimeria\u003c/em\u003e spp., tended to have a lower burden of oocysts in winter compared to spring. Another investigation by Băieş et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e) found a different parasitic load of \u003cem\u003eEimeria\u003c/em\u003e spp. between the seasons winter/spring (higher) and summer/autumn (lower). In this study, the highest mean number of \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora\u003c/em\u003e spp. oocysts was recorded in the 2nd visit, which was during late summer/autumn. \u003cem\u003eEimeria\u003c/em\u003e oocysts can die when the temperature is colder (-20\u0026deg;C) or hotter (38\u0026deg;C), as in the case of \u003cem\u003eEimeria bovis\u003c/em\u003e, a coccidia which infects cows (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e). Mild summer temperatures, such as those that occur in Ireland (mean temperatures between 14\u0026ndash;15\u0026deg;C; (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e)) result in favourable conditions for the \u003cem\u003eEimeria\u003c/em\u003e oocysts to become infective, causing the higher FEC during the summer and autumn month periods.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eInfection from strongyles occurs from the L3 infective larval stage. Eggs are passed through faeces, hatch, and develop infective larvae, which are ingested by the pigs (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e32\u003c/span\u003e). Harsh, cold, winters and dry, hot, summers have detrimental effects on \u003cem\u003eOesophagostomum\u003c/em\u003e spp. eggs, leading to higher mortality rates (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e33\u003c/span\u003e). According to Nansen and Roepstorff (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e), the lower temperature limit for the \u003cem\u003eOesophagostomum\u003c/em\u003e spp. is ̴10\u0026deg;C and the eggs deposited during the winter do not survive into the spring. Rose and Small (34) found that transmission of both \u003cem\u003eOesophagostomum\u003c/em\u003e spp. and \u003cem\u003eHyostrongylus rubidus\u003c/em\u003e could not take place during winter in British conditions. Even though a higher temperature average (\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;7\u0026deg;C) was observed during the 1st visit, Irish winter air temperature averages are at 4\u0026ndash;7\u0026deg;C (31). The highest mean faecal egg counts (FEC) of strongyle-type nematodes were observed during the 1st visit, conducted in late winter/spring. The strongyle lifecycle within the pig spans approximately 4\u0026ndash;6 weeks (15). In outdoor environments, most eggs and free-living larvae do not survive the winter months due to harsh conditions. This results in a reduced larval load available for ingestion by pigs, leading to fewer mature adult worms and consequently lower FEC during the summer/autumn months. However, Ireland's mild summers, compared to other European countries, may not significantly affect the survival of eggs and free-living larvae. This could contribute to the higher FEC observed during the winter/spring period, as larvae surviving through the summer are ingested by pigs and develop into adult worms capable of producing eggs during these colder months.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDuring this study, the faecal egg counts of \u003cem\u003eAscaris suum\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eTrichuris suis\u003c/em\u003e did not differ between the two visits, although they were present on only 30% of the farms visited. The eggs of these parasites are more resistant to environmental conditions, which could explain the consistency of their counts relative to those of strongyles (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e35\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSeveral studies mention significant differences in the FEC between pigs of different ages in terms of \u003cem\u003eEimeria\u003c/em\u003e spp. and strongyles (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e36\u003c/span\u003e). In the present analysis, fattener pigs had higher mean FEC for \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora\u003c/em\u003e spp. while the sows and boars had higher mean FEC for strongyles. Older animals (sows and boars) have stronger immunity towards \u003cem\u003eEimeria\u003c/em\u003e spp. due to frequent contact with \u003cem\u003eEimeria\u003c/em\u003e spp. and other coccidia (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e). This could explain the lower FEC in these older animals. In contrast, the patterns for strongyles such as \u003cem\u003eOesophagostomum spp.\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eHyostrongylus rubidus\u003c/em\u003e were of higher parasite intensity with increasing host age (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e). \u003cem\u003eOesophagostomum\u003c/em\u003e spp. has low immunogenicity, resulting in almost all larvae surviving into maturity and living inside the pig for 2\u0026ndash;4 months (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e) thus the higher strongyles FEC observed during our study in these older animals.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn contrast, \u003cem\u003eAscaris suum\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eTrichuris suis\u003c/em\u003e have high immunogenicity and a large majority of larvae are expelled from the small intestine, leaving a small number of mature worms inside the animal (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e). The results of this study did not indicate an age effect on FEC; however, in several studies from other European countries the prevalence and intensity of \u003cem\u003eA. suum\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eT. suis\u003c/em\u003e differed across age groups (intensity lowered with the age of the animal) (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec18\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eEffect of using anthelmintics and paddock rotation on the FEC\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIreland, being a member of the European Union, has a list of approved anthelmintics for use in pigs. In our study only 7 of the 20 farms administered anthelmintics to their pigs. As the results indicated, the farms using anthelmintics had significantly lower strongyle counts. Indeed, the use of anthelmintics on strongyle species such as \u003cem\u003eOesophagostomum\u003c/em\u003e spp. is highly effective, even though anthelmintic resistance is an emerging issue (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e). Although other studies show high efficacy (in some studies\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;90%) of anthelmintics on \u003cem\u003eAscaris suum\u003c/em\u003e, regardless of the class used (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e37\u003c/span\u003e), the present study did not find an effect of anthelmintic use on \u003cem\u003eAscaris suum\u003c/em\u003e FEC. However, only 3 of the 7 farms that used anthelmintics had \u003cem\u003eAscaris suum\u003c/em\u003e and this may have influenced the sensitivity of the analysis.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePaddock rotation is an important management method to control parasites. Anthelmintics alone are not effective in the long -run, as parasites and eggs can survive in the soil or be re-introduced by other reservoirs (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e38\u003c/span\u003e) so re-infection is inevitable. This could explain why in this study, the FEC of \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora\u003c/em\u003e spp. in the farms that practised paddock rotation was low even when the use of anthelmintics was taken into account.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusions","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis analysis observed seasonal variation in the FEC of \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora\u003c/em\u003e spp. and strongyles, with \u003cem\u003eEimeria\u003c/em\u003e spp. levels higher in the spring, and strongyle levels higher in the autumn. Grower and fattener pigs had higher \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora\u003c/em\u003e spp. counts while sows and boars had higher strongyle counts, indicating different parasite community dynamics in different age groups. Anthelmintic usage seems to be effective against strongyles, and paddock rotation tended to reduce \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora\u003c/em\u003e spp. counts in the presence of anthelmintics. There is a lack of data on GI parasites in Irish pigs, particularly those kept outdoors, and this study sheds light on the factors that could affect their prevalence.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Abbreviations","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionList\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003eGI\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGastro\u0026ndash;intestinal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003eFEC\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFaecal egg count\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthics approval and consent to participate\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study was approved by the Teagasc ethics committee (TAEC2022-344)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConsent for publication\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot applicable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study was funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in Ireland (Grant number 2021R600).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData availability\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthors\u0026apos; contributions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eN.S.S participated in the sample of fieldwork, conducted the analysis, and wrote the first draft. K.OD. designed and supervised the analysis and revised the article. L.B. designed and supervised the project and revised the article. O.M. designed and participated in the sampling of fieldwork, supervised the analyses and revised the article. F.B. designed, supervised and revised the article. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompeting interests\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors would like to thank \u0026Eacute;lodie Peyrard, Laura Frigerio, Camille Ducher and Lilou Soler for their assistance during the sampling in the field.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCharlier J, Rinaldi L, Musella V, Ploeger HW, Chartier C, Vineer HR, et al. 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Int J Parasitol. 1999;29(6):877\u0026ndash;91; https://doi.org/10.1016/S0020-7519(99)00048-0.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCurley M, Coonan B, Ryan C, Ruth CE. Ireland\u0026rsquo;s Climatological Standard Normals (CLINO) 1991-2020. EMS Annual Meeting 2023, Bratislava, Slovakia, 4\u0026ndash;8 Sep 2023. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eZimmerman JJ,. Diseases of swine. 10th ed. Hoboken (NJ): John Wiley \u0026amp; Sons; 2012.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMejer H, Wendt S, Thomsen LE, Roepstorff A, Hindsbo O. Nose-Rings and Transmission of Helminth Parasites in Outdoor Pigs. Acta Vet Scand. 2000 Jun;41(2):153\u0026ndash;65; https://doi.org/10.1186/1751-0147-41-153.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRose JH, Small AJ. Observations on the effect of anthelmintic treatment on the transmission of \u003cem\u003eHyostrongylus rubidus\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eOesophagostomum\u003c/em\u003e spp. among sows at pasture. J Helminthol. 1983;57(1):1-8; https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022149X0002320X\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRoepstorff A, Murrell KD. Transmission dynamics of helminth parasites of pigs on continuous pasture: Ascaris suum and Trichuris suis. Int J Parasitol . 1997;27(5):563\u0026ndash;72; https://doi.org/10.1016/S0020-7519(96)00260-5. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJacobs DE, Dunn AM. Helminths of Scottish pigs: occurrence, age incidences and seasonal variations. J Helminthol. 1969;43(3-4):327-40. doi:10.1017/S0022149X00004880.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBoes J, Kanora A, Havn KT, Christiansen S, Vestergaard-Nielsen K, Jacobs J, et al. Effect of Ascaris suum infection on performance of fattening pigs. Vet Parasitol . 2010 Sep;172(3\u0026ndash;4):269\u0026ndash;76; https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-4017(00)00297-1. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOlsen A, Permin A, Roepstorff A. Chickens and pigs as transport hosts for \u003cem\u003eAscaris\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eTrichuris\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eOesophagostomum\u003c/em\u003e eggs. \u003cem\u003eParasitology\u003c/em\u003e. 2001;123(3):325-30. doi:10.1017/S0031182001008435. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"irish-veterinary-journal","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Irish Veterinary Journal](https://irishvetjournal.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"13620","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/13620/3?","title":"Irish Veterinary Journal","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"BMC/SO AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"faecal egg count, anthelmintic, paddock rotation, protozoa, helminths, strongyles","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6056560/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6056560/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eOutdoor farming offers pigs considerable behavioural freedom and better consumer acceptance than intensive, indoor systems. However, gastro \u0026ndash; intestinal (GI) parasites pose a significant health and welfare challenge for pigs reared outdoors. The aim of this study was to ascertain effects of management, season and animal factors such as age, on a range of different GI parasites in Irish pigs farmed outdoors. Sixty-five pig faecal samples (a mix from at least 2\u0026ndash;4 animals per paddock) were collected from 65 paddocks across 20 outdoor pig farms, over two visits (1st visit \u0026ndash; February/May-December 2023, n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;37, 2nd visit \u0026ndash; July/October 2023, n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;28). Samples were collected and mixed thoroughly to achieve a paddock level sample. Data were also collected related to pig characteristics (grower/fatteners or sows and boars), anthelmintic usage (Yes/No) and paddock rotation (Yes/No) and categorized at paddock level. Samples were analysed using the McMaster floatation method, faecal egg count (FEC) was calculated, and GI parasites were identified by morphology. Generalized linear mixed models were used to analyse the effect of season, age, anthelmintic usage and paddock rotation on FEC. Four parasite taxa were identified (\u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora\u003c/em\u003e spp., strongyles, \u003cem\u003eAscaris suum\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eTrichuris suis\u003c/em\u003e). Infection rates were \u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;80% for \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora\u003c/em\u003e spp. and strongyles, 31% for \u003cem\u003eA. suum\u003c/em\u003e and 9% for \u003cem\u003eT. suis\u003c/em\u003e for both visits. \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora\u003c/em\u003e spp. FEC was higher at the 2nd visit (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001) and strongyles FEC was higher at the 1st visit (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). Fattener pigs had higher FEC for \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora\u003c/em\u003e spp. (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01) and sows/boars had higher strongyle counts (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). Strongyle count was lower with anthelmintic use (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) and \u003cem\u003eEimeria/Isospora\u003c/em\u003e spp. spp. count was lower (P\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.05) with paddock rotation when anthelmintics were used. Lower winter temperatures may have influenced the seasonal variation in strongyle FEC. This study provides a comprehensive picture of GI parasites in outdoor pig farms in Ireland in terms of the taxa, their prevalence and risk factors.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Effects of season, age and parasite management practices on gastro – intestinal parasites in pigs kept outdoors in Ireland","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-03-21 08:47:26","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6056560/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-03-26T12:37:43+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-03-24T17:16:22+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-03-20T14:02:42+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"242978815139236609636102698153973199722","date":"2025-03-19T18:58:35+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"52764858745713064040981588651023176887","date":"2025-03-19T14:45:15+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-03-19T07:36:47+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-03-19T06:07:49+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Irish Veterinary Journal","date":"2025-03-18T14:31:00+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"irish-veterinary-journal","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Irish Veterinary Journal](https://irishvetjournal.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"13620","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/13620/3?","title":"Irish Veterinary Journal","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"BMC/SO AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"b0d145c5-6db7-4f92-b53e-90a9f30d7f19","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 21st, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-04-07T17:08:22+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-03-21 08:47:26","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6056560","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6056560","identity":"rs-6056560","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}