Bovine hypodermosis—a global aspect

Abstract

Cattle hypodermosis (warble fly infestation) is a notorious veterinary problem throughout the world. Larvae of Hypoderma species cause a subcutaneous myiasis of domesticated and wild ruminants. This disease is caused by, Hypoderma bovis, Hypoderma lineatum in cattle whereas, Hypoderma diana, Hypoderma actaeon, and Hypoderma tarandi, affect roe deer, red deer, and reindeer, respectively. Adults of the cattle grub are commonly known as heel flies, warble flies, bomb flies or gad flies. The biology of hypodermosis is complex because it passes through ecto- as well as endoparasitic stages in the life cycle. The parasitic stage of hypodermosis lasts about 1 year in domesticated as well as in the wild animals, while in the adult stage, a free-living fly lasts only for few days. The diagnosis of hypodermosis is of prime importance for planning treatment and the eradication program. Generally, there are two methods that are routinely used for diagnosis of hypodermosis, i.e., the direct clinical examination and immuno diagnosis by the use of pooled serum and/or milk sample. For the control of hypodermosis, different preparations are available and their use in most of the countries is limited to an individual level but never cover the whole cattle population of a country. Re-infestation in the herd occurs due to the untreated animals that remain the reservoir of the disease. The disease causes huge economic losses in animal production due to the effect of this disease on meat, milk, and the leather industry. It can also affect the general health status as well as the immune system of the body of the diseased animals. As regards the control measures of the disease, different methods have been efficiently practiced and consequently this disease is controlled at national level in many European countries.

Hypodermosis in Northern Serbia (Vojvodina)

“…Infections of humans by the species H. tarandi are very rare and still not clarified to a sufficient degree. Both species (H. bovis and H. Lineatum) can cause infections in humans, and they are distributed in different areas of North America, Europe and Asia (3,4,7,11). The third species that parasitizes in cattle and yaks in China (H. sinense), can also be responsible for cases of infestation among the human population (10).…”

“…The implementation of efficient prophylactic measures against this disease is successfully controlled at national level in many European countries (4,13,14,15).…”

“…The parasitic phase in domestic and wild animals lasts around one year, but the adult female of the warble fly lives in an inactive form in the external environment for several days, and during that time (in flight or upon landing on skin), it lays eggs on the host's body (4). The model of animal breeding and favorable climatic conditions pose risk factors that favor the life cycle of the parasite (5).…”

An Epidemiological Study of <i>Hypoderma</i> Infection and Control Using Ivermectin in Yaks in Qinghai Province, China

“…are commonly found in yaks grazed in the province. Hypodermosis is a serious disease affecting livestock throughout the world, and two species of Hypoderma , H. bovis and H. lineatum , mainly affect cattle [10]. However, in yaks, a third species, H. sinense , is also commonly found [12, 15].…”

“…Hypodermosis is a subcutaneous myiasis which causes significant economic losses in the animal production industry [2, 4, 10] due to reduced weight gain, milk production and leather quality [24]. Even though the economic and zoonotic problems of warble flies are quite significant, systematic control measures against the parasite infection have not been used in Qinghai province.…”