Prevalence Of Bovine Fascioliasis Research Articles

Spatial distribution analysis of bovine fascioliasis cases recorded in an abattoir in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil

ABSTRACT: Fascioliasis is a zoonosis of global distribution caused by the parasitic trematode Fasciola spp. Infection in humans can occur in areas endemic for animal fascioliasis, suggesting the need for studies on this parasitosis and its determinants. This exploratory study aimed to analyze the spatial distribution of bovine fascioliasis in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, based on cases notified between 2015 and 2017 in a state abattoir, located in the municipality of Orleans, and to associate disease occurrence with altitude, temperature, and rainfall. The research was conducted at Centro Universitário Barriga Verde (UNIBAVE)/Orleans, SC and Fundação Oswaldo Cruz/Rio de Janeiro, RJ. During the study period, the abattoir received animals from 58 municipalities in that state. Of the animals slaughtered in that period, 10,81% were infected with Fasciola hepatica. Presence of bovine fascioliasis infection was identified in the South and Southeast regions of the state, with higher prevalence rates in the latter. There was an association between low altitudes and higher occurrence of cases in the municipalities assessed. In addition, prevalence of bovine fascioliasis was higher in municipalities with high temperatures and low rainfall. Therefore, these results should be considered for planning disease control measures in the South and Southeast regions of the state of Santa Catarina.

Prevalence of bovine fascioliasis in a new-emerging focus of human fascioliasis in BoyerAhmad district, southwest of Iran

BackgroundThe prevalence of fascioliasis in a population of cattle in a new-emerging focus of human fascioliasis in Boyer-Ahmad District, in the southwest of Iran, was investigated, using an ELISA system and coprological methods. MethodsBlood, as well as stool samples, were collected from 150 dairy cattle consisted of 82 (54.7%) males and 68 (45.3%) females, aged from 1 to 8 years, selected from different pastures. The stool samples were evaluated by direct wet mount microscopic examination as well as sedimentation methods. Moreover, modified Telemann was used for detecting of Fasciola eggs. Anti-Fasciola antibodies in the cattle sera samples were determined, using a Fasciola excretory-secretory antigen-specific ELISA. ResultsAnti-Fasciola antibodies were detected in 64 (42.4%) of the subjects by ELISA. Out of 64 seropositive cases, 29 (45.3%) were female and 35 (54.6%) were male. No significant association was found between sex and seropositivity to fascioliasis. Considering the age of the cattle, the highest prevalence of fascioliasis (23%) was found in the 5-year old age group. However, the difference between the age of the cattle and seropositivity to fascioliasis was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Fasciola eggs were not detected in fecal samples of any of the studied cattle, while Paramphistomide, as well as Dicrocoelium dendriticum eggs, were detected in 6 (4%) and 17 (11.3%) of the subjects, respectively. ConclusionFindings of the current study provide basic information about bovine fascioliasis in a new focus of human fascioliasis in Iran, which is needed for effective control of this parasitic infection in such areas.

Prevalence of bovine fascioliasis and economic impact associated with liver condemnation in abattoirs in Mongu district of Zambia

BackgroundFascioliasis is a trematode zoonotic snail-borne disease of public health and economic importance. The disease causes liver damage and is hardly recognized by medical personnel hence, is rarely considered as the differential diagnosis. In animals, the disease leads to mortalities, growth retardation, drop in livestock production and condemnation of the infected livers during meat inspection.The cross-sectional study was conducted from 2013 to 2017 in abattoirs in Mongu district, Western province of Zambia. Each selected carcass was examined macroscopically for bovine fascioliasis by dissecting the liver and checking for adult liver flukes. Infested and condemned livers were weighed and incinerated.ResultsA total of 69,152 carcasses with their livers was examined at the abattoirs for adult Fasciola worms and 44,511 (64.4%) were positive. According to the intensity of pathological lesions, 55.3% constituted severely affected livers, 30.3% were moderately affected livers and 14.4% were lightly affected livers. Our observation revealed that the most prevalent liver fluke identified was Fasciola gigantica (56.1%) and it mostly affected the poor body conditioned animals (71.4%). The study also indicated that 164,600 kg liver was condemned and destroyed. This reduced the income base for small-scale livestock farmers to about ZMW 7,407,000.00, which was equivalent to 592,560 USD.ConclusionIn conclusion, our study suggests that the prevalence of bovine fascioliasis was high resulting in a large amount of liver being condemned and destroyed, leading to economic losses for affected livestock farmers in the area. Consequently, there is a need to take the necessary measures to control the disease and create awareness among medical personnel to consider it as a differential diagnosis in all functional liver deficiencies due to the zoonotic nature of the disease.

Prevalence of bovine fascioliasis, areas at risk and ensuing losses in the state of Goiás, Brazil.

The present study had to determine the prevalence and spatial distribution of areas at risk of bovine fascioliasis in the state of Goiás, central-western Brazil between 2007 and 2014; to evaluate the associations of some epidemiological variables with occurrences of Fasciola hepatica in animals; and to estimate the economic losses that this parasite on the cattle industry. It could be concluded that of 23,255,979 animals slaughtered, the average prevalence of F. hepatica in cattle in Goiás during the period evaluated was 0.0026% (95% CI: 0.0024-0.0028). In the State of Goias, in about then years (since when this parasite was found for the first time by other researchers in 2007), F. hepatica was diagnosed in 168 new municipalities. Using the regression analysis, the effective bovine herd size was a significant risk factor (OR= 1.21; 95% CI 1.1022-1.4510; p ≤ 0.05) for cattle to be infected with fascioliasis in the state of Goiás. The cattle-rearing industry lost approximately R$ 15,072.75 (US$ 4,785) due to condemn of livers with Fasciola in the state of Goiás. New studies need to be conducted in these regions, with the aim to identify the likelihood of presence of intermediate hosts, which might serve as a source of F. hepatica infection for definitive hosts.

Evaluation of modified Dennis parasitological technique for diagnosis of bovine fascioliasis.

Bovine fascioliasis causes important economic losses, estimated at COP$ 12,483 billion per year; its prevalence is 25% in dairy cattle. Parasitological techniques are required for it diagnosis. The Dennis technique, modified in 2002, is the one used in Colombia, but its sensitivity, specificity and validity are not known. To evaluate the validity and performance of the modified Dennis technique for diagnosis of bovine fascioliasis using as reference test the observation of parasites in the liver. We conducted a diagnostic evaluation study. We selected a convenience sample of discarded bovines sacrificed between March and June, 2013, in Frigocolanta for the study. We collected 25 g of feces from each animal and their liver and bile ducts were examined for Fasciola hepatica. The sensitivity, specificity, predictive positive value, predictive negative value, and validity index were calculated with 95% confidence intervals. The post-mortem evaluation was used as the gold standard. We analyzed 180 bovines. The sensitivity and specificity of the modified Dennis technique were 73.2% (95% CI=58.4% - 87.9%) and 84.2% (95% CI= 77.7% - 90.6%), respectively. The positive predictive value was 57.7% (95% CI= 43.3% - 72.1%) and the negative one 91.4% (95% CI= 86.2% - 96.6%). The prevalence of bovine fascioliasis was 22.8% (95% CI= 16.4% - 29.2%). The validity and the performance of the modified Dennis technique were higher than those of the traditional one, which makes it a good screening test for diagnosing fascioliasis for population and prevalence studies and during animal health campaigns.

Bovine Fascioliasis: A Review

Fascioliasis is a zoonotic trematodiasis of great public health importance affecting ruminant animals and man. The prevalence of bovine fascioliasis in Nigeria is high and affects the productivity of farmers. Fascioliasis is mainly detected in abattoirs during post mortem inspection as it affects the livers of these animals leading to partial or total condemnation of the liver. Since most cattle slaughtered in Nigeria originates from the northern parts of the country, the herds' men that rear these animals should be properly educated on the public health and economic significance of fascioliasis. The meat inspectors should be made to follow strict procedures while inspecting at the abattoir so that contaminated meat will not be passed for human consumption. Public awareness campaigns should be organized to educate the farm/livestock owners, butchers, other animal handlers and consumers about the implications of fascioliasis. All level of governance should also help in the prevention and control of fascioliasis in Nigeria.

Point prevalence of bovine fascioliasis and the influence of chemotherapy on the milk yield in a lactating bovine population from the district of Toba Tek Singh, Pakistan

This paper provides an estimation of the point prevalence of fascioliasis and its economic impact in terms of increased milk yield after chemotherapy of a bovine population from the district of Toba Tek Singh, Punjab, Pakistan. A total of 2400 cattle and buffaloes were examined quantitatively using the McMaster egg-counting technique. Infected cattle and buffaloes (50 of each) were randomly selected and each divided into two groups of 25 animals. Groups A (buffaloes) and C (cattle) were treated with oxyclozanide (orally, 16.6mgkg-1 body weight). Groups B and D served as negative controls for buffaloes and cattle, respectively. Pre- and post-treatment milk yield was recorded to determine if there were any changes in milk yield after treatment. Of 2400 faecal samples analysed, 654 (27.25%) were positive for Fasciola spp. with a mean number of eggs per gram (EPG) of 503.2. The point prevalence and worm burden of fascioliasis was significantly higher (OR=2.13; P<0.05) in buffaloes (34.58%; 415/1200; mean EPG maximum likelihood=521.4) as compared to that of cattle (19.92%; 239/1200; mean EPG maximum likelihood=415.8). Among the parasite species, F. gigantica (19.88%; 477/2400) was predominant (OR=3.12; P<0.05) as compared to F. hepatica (7.38%; 177/2400). An average daily increase of 0.67 and 0.87 litres of milk, with 0.41% and 0.37% more fat per animal, was observed in oxyclozanide-treated buffaloes and cattle, respectively. The economic value of reduced production of infected animals was estimated as US$0.33 and 0.32 per animal per day for cattle and buffaloes, respectively.

The Prepatent and Patent Periods of Fasciola hepatica in Cattle in Puerto Rico

Fasciola hepatica, the liver fluke, is the most important parasite of cattle in Puerto Rico. Although it was commonly found in cattle at the turn of the century, no quantitative information is available. More recently, investigatioiis have shown that the prevalence of bovine fascioliasis in the slaughterhouses in Puerto Rico has been rising with an overall prevalence rate of 32% (Frame and Bendezu, 1978, J. Parasitol. 64: 136). Fascioliasis represents economic losses of over a million dollars because of condemned cow liver alone. NMoreover, the estimated prevalence is considered conservative as fecal examinations have shown even higher prevalence rates (Frame et al., 1981, J. Parasitol. 66: 698-699). Studies on the epidemiology of bovine fascioliasis in Puerto Rico have been reported (Chiriboga et al., 1980, J. Agri. Univ. P.R. 64: 93-106; Frame et al., 1981, loc. cit.). However, (no stud(lies have been done on the prepatent and patent periods of infection with F. hepatica in cattle in Puerto Rico. The present study was designed to examine this aspect. Three calves, approximately 6 mo old and free of intestinal helminth eggs, were infected per os with 1,000 F. hepatica metacercariae in sealed gelatin capsules. The cysts were fresh and obtained from laboratory-reared Lyilnaea cubensis snails. The calves were kept in individual raised paddocks, fed with hay grown locally and with concentrate feed. Fecal samples were collected in the morning every 2 wk for 56 wk, and a quantitative fecal sedimentation technique was used to determine the number of F. hepatica eggs eliminated per gram of feces (Dennis et al., 1954, JAVMA 124: 47-50). All three calves were first excreting F. hepatica eggs by the 8th wk of infection (1 to 9 eggs/g), and egg excretion peaked (220 to 510 eggs/g) at 18 to 20 wk postinfection, when the number began decreasing rapidly (Table I). By the 40th wk (10 imo) of infection, a second significant drop in egg counts was observed in which only one to seven F. hepatica eggs/g were noted with the egg excretion level dropping to zero to two eggs/g by 46 wk postinfection. Thus, it is possible that the last surviving flukes died by the 40th wk of infection and the eggs observed were those deposited and stored in the gallbladder. It is known that the gallbladder excretes bile during certain periods of the day when the cows are ruminating. Thus, excretion of eggs remaining in the gallbladder would decrease slowly as shown in the table. These studies demonstrated that the prepatent period of F. hepatica in cattle in Puerto Rico was 8 wk postinfection, with maximum egg production occurring by 18 to 20 wk postinfection. It appears that cows with a primary infection of F. hepatica lose

The Influence of Breed and Age on the Prevalence of Bovine Fascioliasis in Kenya

An abattoir survey was carried out on 2431 cattle consisting of four different breeds from a farm in a high rainfall area of Kenya in order to determine the relative prevalence of Fasciola gigantica infections in the different breeds. The results show that Boran cattle ( Bos indicus ) have lower prevalence rates and fluke burdens than Bos taurus types such as Aberdeen Angus, Friesian × Boran or Herefords; of these latter breeds the Aberdeen Angus have lighter infections than Friesian × Boran and Herefords.