A survey for antibodies against Fasciola hepatica in cattle and sheep in Finland indicates a low level of exposure

Abstract

Background Fasciolosis is a parasitic infection caused by the liver fluke Fasciola hepatica that can have a major economic impact on livestock industry. The prevalence of the disease has recently been increasing in many North European countries. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of antibody against F. hepatica in Finnish cattle herds and sheep flocks during 2019 by using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Randomly selected bulk tank milk samples were obtained from 660 dairy herds. Blood samples were collected at slaughterhouses from 1944 suckler cows from 309 herds and from 1120 sheep from 95 flocks. Results Antibodies against F. hepatica were found in 0.45% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.15–1.33) of the dairy herds and 0.97% (95% CI: 0.33–2.82) of the suckler cow herds. The seropositive herds were located in eastern and central Finland. None of the sampled sheep flocks tested had antibodies against F. hepatica (95% CI: 0–3.89). The results of the assays were compared with meat inspection data received from the slaughterhouses. All positive herds also had liver condemnations due to F. hepatica based on the meat inspection reports. Conclusions Compared to other North European countries, the prevalence of fasciolosis in Finland can be considered low, and according to meat inspection reports, there are no indications of the prevalence increasing in Finland.

Identification of freshwater snail species and survey of their trematode infections in Ordos, China

“…In addition, in freshwater snails, we found that some of the cercariae tail had already broken off inside the snail and formed fresh, milky-white “gourd-type” metacercariaes. This is different from the cercariae that overflowed out of the snail and developed into metacercari in the water as reported by Groning et al (2023) .…”