Authors

R Laing¹;  ¹ University of Glasgow , UK

Discussion

Control of parasitic infections in animals and humans currently relies on mass drug administration of a limited number of anthelmintics. However, this approach is not sustainable due to the emergence and spread of anthelmintic resistance. Haemonchus contortus is an economically important and highly pathogenic gastrointestinal nematode of small ruminants, which is becoming increasingly difficult to control due to multi-drug resistance. The mechanisms underlying anthelmintic resistance are generally poorly understood, with studies comparing resistant and sensitive parasites confounded by high levels of genetic diversity within and between and populations. To overcome this, we crossed a well-characterised multi-drug resistant isolate of H. contortus with a drug susceptible isolate to study resistance to three major anthelmintic classes, while controlling for background genetic variation. In this talk I will describe recent progress in understanding the genetic mechanisms underlying resistance to levamisole and describe ongoing work investigating the evolution of resistance to the macrocyclic lactones.