A Review: Alternative Methods of Controlling Ruminant Internal Parasites
	Introduction Factors affecting internal parasite control in ruminants Alternative dewormers Conclusion and references

Internal parasites of ruminants include roundworms, lungworms, tapeworms, and flukes. Major classes of internal parasites is shown in Table 1. Characteristics of main internal parasite genera are shown in Table 2 Controlling internal parasites in ruminants needs integrated animal health care. Integrated animal health care includes the diversity of livestock species present and the environment. It combines animal treatment with disease prevention through vaccination, improved management, feeding, sanitation and clean water. There are many approaches to health care including allopathy, ayurveda, homeopathy and several others that are useful in animal healthcare and production. Each approach has its own strengths and drawbacks. Allopathic remedies are often highly potent and work fast. But they are costly and difficult to access in remote areas. In addition to this, allopathic treatment may have side effects or develop resistance to the treatment. Homeopathy and Ayurveda, on the other hand, do not act as fast as allopathic drugs, but stimulate the immune response and strengthen the patient as a whole.

Internal parasites are one of the major threats to livestock production. With parasites developing resistance to most of the dewormers and more farmers producing livestock by natural methods, there is renewed interest in alternative methods of managing parasite problems. There are a number of different ways for managing parasite control in ruminants. Biological control of livestock parasites such as using fungi to destroy nematodes is a developing control method. It has great potential in the light of parasites' growing resistance against Ivermectin, a macrolide antibiotic. Deore (1999) reported herbal medicines, traditional practices, flower medicines, are successfully practised by veterinarians. The fruit of Mallotus phillippensis, Red Kamala (family Euphorbiaceae) has been used as an anthelmintic, cathertic, aphrodisiac, lithotropic and styptic (Chopra et al., 1956; Satyavati et al., 1987). There are other plants that have been traditionally used as an anthelmintic such as Fumaria parviflora, fine leaved fumitory (Fumariaceae);Fumaria officinalis, pitpapra or fumitory (Fumariaceae); Nigella sativa, Black Cumin or Kalonji (Ranunculaceae), and Morus alba, White Mulberry (Moraceae) (Nadkarni, 1954; Chopra et al.,1956). Kambewa (1999) reported that Tephrosia vogelii could be promoted as an animal acaricide. 200 g of dried leaves of Tephrosia vogelii has been reported to be effective for treating verechanalu ‘diarrhoea’ caused by internal parasites. Similarly, Sanyal (1999) stated that a number of biological organisms have been identified that could feed on nematodes; protozoans; predacious nematodes, viruses, bacteria and fungi. This paper briefly discusses means of controlling internal parasites in ruminants other than allopathic.

Table 1. Major classes of internal parasites

Internal Parasite	Species
	Sheep	Cattle	Pigs	Poultry
Roundworms or Nemathelminthes:	-	-	-	-
Strongyles	*	*	-	*
Strongyloides ransomi	-	-	*	-
Gastrointestinal worms:	---	--	--	--
Abomasum worms:	--	--	--	--
Haemonchus contortus (Barblepole worm)	*	*	-	-
Trychostrongylus axei	*	*	-	-
Ostertagia circumcincta	*	*	-	-
Ostertagia trifurcata	*	.	.	.
Ostertagia leptospicularis	*	*	.	.
Ostertagia ostertagi	.	*	.	.
Ostertagia lyrata	.	*	.	.
Duodenum worms:	*	*	*	.
Trichostrongylus	*	.	.	.
Nematodes (Roundworms)	*	*	*	*
Cooperia	.	*	.	.
Strongyloides (Threadworms)	.	.	*	.
Capillary worm	.	.	.	.
Large intestine worms:	*	.	.	.
Oesophagostomum (Nodular worm)	*	*	.	.
Trichuris (Whipworm)	*	*	.	.
Trichuris suis	.	*	.	.
Small intestine worms: or Ancylostomidae	..	..	.....	...
Ancylostoma	..	..	..	..
Necator	..	..	..	..
Bunostomum (Hookworm)	..	..	..	..
Lungworm or Metastrongyles	..	..	..	..
Dictocaulus	*	*	..	..
Metastrongylus	*	*	.	.
Metastrongylus apri	.	.	*	.
Protostrongylus	.----	.--	.-	.
Ascarids: (duodemum)	*	*	.	.
Ascaris (Large roundworms)	.	.	.	.
Ascaris suum	.	.	*	.
Ascaridia galli	.	.	.	*
Flatworms or platyhelminthes:	.	.	.	.
Cestodes (Tapeworm): (duodenum)	.	.	..	.
Taenia	*	*	.	.
Echinococcus	*	*	.	.
Moniezia (Flukes)	*	*	.	.
Trematodes: (Liver)	.	.	.	.
Fasciola (Flukes)	*	*	.	.
Dicrocoelium	*	*	.	.