Epizootiology, pathogenesis and immunoprophylactic trends to control tropical bubaline fasciolosis: an overview

Abstract

On the Indian sub-continent, nearly 5,000 years ago, the domestication of the riverine buffalo-the incredible Asian dairy animal was initiated. It plays a versatile role in socio-economic upliftment of its owners from the rural agricultural communities in Asian, African, South American and a few European countries. Comparatively, buffaloes are lesser evolved and susceptible to infectious diseases than cattle. However, poor body thermoregulation and wallowing nature predisposed them to snail borne infections, especially tropical fasciolosis-an incessant major constraint on buffalo production and improvement programmes. This review article is an insight into the global prevalence, varied epizootiological factors, offers possible explanation to pathophysiological clinical signs, deleterious effects of the tropical liver fluke, involving hepato-biliary system, haemopoitic system, endocrine glands and their secretions, oxidative stress, altered metabolism and significant fall in food conversion efficiency with unaffected digestibility of nutrients. Besides, the authors have briefly discussed and reviewed the developments and significance of successful immunodiagnostic approaches for detecting and forecasting the disease during early pre-patency and feasibility of developing a cost effective immunoprotection strategies against tropical fasciolosis.

Epidemiological and ultrasonographic investigation of bovine fascioliasis in smallholder production system in Eastern Nile Delta of Egypt

“…Possible explanations (1) infected animals are in the early stages of infection which was initiated with few number of parasites, and (2) the animal is in the chronic phase of infection but the number of liver fluke colonizing the liver tissue are few in number. This comes in agreement with previous studies (Braun et al, 1995;Sharma et al, 2011). Animals with moderate egg load and clinical manifestation showed involvement of hepatic parenchyma.…”

“…Occurrence of fascioliasis is strongly linked to the freshwater mollusk of the genus Lymnaea spp., which acts as an intermediate host of the liver fluke (de Kock et al, 2003;Sharma et al, 2011). In Egypt, the agricultural activities depend exclusively on the water of the Nile River, which is running across the middle of Egypt starting from the south at the Nasser Lake to the north at the Mediterranean Sea.…”

“…Bovine fascioliasis manifests clinically by weight loss, anemia, weakness, diarrhea, and subcutaneous edema, particularly in submandibular region (Yadav et al, 1999;Sharma et al, 2011). In progressive chronic cases, the liver is extensively damaged and develops hepatic fibrosis (Serra-Freire et al, 1995;Marcos et al, 2007).…”

Outbreak of Fatal Subacute Bubaline Fasciolosis in Wayanad, Kerala, India

“…Buffaloes are lesser susceptible to infectious diseases than cattle [3]. However, high sensitivity to solar radiation, poor body thermoregulation and wallowing nature predisposes buffaloes to snail borne infections.…”

“…However, high sensitivity to solar radiation, poor body thermoregulation and wallowing nature predisposes buffaloes to snail borne infections. Fasciolosis have been a major economic threat to ruminants especially buffaloes in tropical and sub-tropical countries like India [3]. Acute form of fasciolosis is caused by presence of immature migrating flukes in liver and cases due to this are rarely reported in cattle and buffaloes from India [4].…”