Helmintic infections in water buffaloes on Italian farms: a spatial analysis

Abstract

Abstract. The present paper reports the results of a cross-sectional survey aimed at obtaining up-to-date information on the spatial distribution of different groups and/or species of helminths in water buffaloes from central Italy. Geographical information systems (GIS) and spatial analysis were used to plan the sampling procedures, to display the results as maps and to detect spatial clusters of helminths in the study area. The survey was conducted on 127 water buffalo farms, which were selected in the study area using a grid sampling approach, followed by proportional allocation. Faecal samples (n. = 1,883) collected from the 127 farms were examined using the Flotac dual technique. Gastrointestinal strongyles were the most frequent helminths (33.1%) on the tested farms, followed by the liver fluke Fasciola hepatica (7.1%), the rumen fluke Calicophoron daubneyi (7.1%), the nematode Strongyloides spp. (3.1%), the lancet liver fluke Dicrocoelium dendriticum (2.4%) and the tapeworm Moniezia spp. (2.4%). In order to display the spatial distribution of the various helminths detected on the water buffalo farms (used as epidemiological unit in our study), point maps were drawn within the GIS. In addition, for each helminth, clustering of test-positive farms were investigated based on location determined by exact coordinates. Using spatial scan statistic, spatial clusters were found for the flukes F. hepatica and C. daubneyi and the cestode Moniezia spp.; these findings are consistent with the life cycle of these parasites, which have strong environmental determinants. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that, with the appropriate survey-based data at hand, GIS is a useful tool to study epidemiological patterns of infections in veterinary health, in particular in water buffaloes.

Detection of major climatic and environmental predictors of liver fluke exposure risk in Ireland using spatial cluster analysis

“…Rinaldi et al (2009) found clusters of fasciolosis in water buffaloes farms in Italy; Bennema et al (2011) detected spatial clusters of the disease in dairy cow farms in Belgium, and Selemetas et al (2015b) identified high-risk and low-risk regions of fasciolosis in Munster province of Ireland. However, a national-scale cluster analysis of the disease in dairy farms has not yet been conducted in Ireland to detect high-risk regions of fasciolosis and specific infection patterns.…”

Cluster analysis of fasciolosis in dairy cow herds in Munster province of Ireland and detection of major climatic and environmental predictors of the exposure risk

“…There are only two studies that have used cluster detection techniques to identify highrisk regions for fasciolosis, i.e. the study by Rinaldi et al (2009) that detected spatial clusters of fasciolosis in water buffaloes in central Italy; and the study by Bennema et al (2011) that identified spatial clusters of fasciolosis in dairy herds in Flanders, Belgium. Cluster analysis of fasciolosis in Ireland has not yet been used to explore patterns of distribution of the disease in dairy herds and to evaluate the spatial autocorrelation of the clusters with predictor variables.…”

Environmental Aspects of Zoonotic Diseases

“…Davis (2005) showed in his study that eggs of E. revolatum, a human pathogen, recovered from Canada geese and stored at 4°C for up to 72 weeks hatched successfully following incubation at optimum temperature (25-30°C). Beside humans, Fasciola hepatica infects other final host such as cattle, sheep, water buffaloes, lagomorphs, rodents and pigs, causing major economic damages in endemic areas (Pritchard et al, 2005;Rinaldi et al, 2009;Menard et al, 2000). An interesting question that should be asked in relation to almost all flukes is: What is the impact of different anthropogenic chemical pollutants on the interaction between flukes and their hosts (mainly primary and secondary ones)?…”