Abstract
Aim:This study aimed to determine the prevalence of Oestrus ovis in sheep meant for meat commercialization in the main slaughterhouse of the country.Materials and Methods:Between October 2015 and December 2015, we assessed the occurrence of Oestrus myiasis in the main slaughterhouse localized in Quito. In total, 80 sheep heads were randomly inspected and necropsied. Larvae were removed from nasal cavities and paranasal sinuses and cleaned. ANOVA (generalized linear model) was used to estimate the relationship between sex, age, and place of origin and presence or absence of parasite larvae.Results:Morphological identification confirmed that 19% (15/80) of the examined animals were positive for Oestrus ovis; from the positive cases, 21% were young animals <12 months old. We found that statistical differences by animal sex, males, were most infested 93% (14/15) than females 7% (1/15). Larvae’s L2 were more abundant than other stages (62 of the total 149). 14 of the infested animals were from the Andean places at > 2500 meters above sea level (m.a.s.l.), and only one case from the coastal region at 250 m.a.s.l. with tropical environmental conditions.Conclusions:Our results showed evidence of the presence of myiasis caused by O. ovis in Andean and coastal places in Ecuador and its adaptation to different environmental conditions from that reported previously in temperate regions from Europe and Africa.
Highlights
The sheep bot fly Oestrus ovis (Diptera: Oestridae) is a cosmopolitan and obligate parasite in domestic and wild ruminants, mainly founding sheep and goats and eventually in some wild species [1,2] and humans [3,4,5,6]
Our results showed evidence of the presence of myiasis caused by O. ovis in Andean and coastal places in Ecuador and its adaptation to different environmental conditions from that reported previously in temperate regions from Europe and Africa
Among positive cases, males were most infected than females 14 (93%) and 1 case (7%), respectively. 14 sheep came from Andean region farms located at >2500 meters above sea level (m.a.s.l.). with low temperatures and dry areas and one infested animal came from the coastal area at 50 m.a.s.l. with high temperatures and humidity annual averages (Table-1)
Summary
The sheep bot fly Oestrus ovis (Diptera: Oestridae) is a cosmopolitan and obligate parasite in domestic and wild ruminants, mainly founding sheep and goats and eventually in some wild species [1,2] and humans [3,4,5,6]. It produces high mobility in infected animals. In America, this parasite was found from California to the Patagonian regions, including Central America [10,11,12], as O. ovis activities appear to be accustomed to high temperatures (2528°C), strong solar radiation (116-838 Wm−2), and a wide range of the relative humidity (65-85%) [13]
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