Trematoda is a class of flatworms known as flukes or trematodes. They are obligate internal parasites with a complex life cycle requiring at least two hosts. The intermediate host, in which asexual reproduction occurs, is usually a snail. The definitive host, where the flukes sexually reproduce, is a vertebrate. Infection by trematodes can cause disease in all five traditional vertebrate classes: mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish.
Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in question but by their way of life. This means it forms a synthesis of other disciplines, and draws on techniques from fields such as cell biology, bioinformatics, biochemistry, molecular biology, immunology, genetics, evolution and ecology.
Fasciolosis is a parasitic worm infection caused by the common liver fluke Fasciola hepatica as well as by Fasciola gigantica. The disease is a plant-borne trematode zoonosis, and is classified as a neglected tropical disease (NTD). It affects humans, but its main host is ruminants such as cattle and sheep. The disease progresses through four distinct phases; an initial incubation phase of between a few days up to three months with little or no symptoms; an invasive or acute phase which may manifest with: fever, malaise, abdominal pain, gastrointestinal symptoms, urticaria, anemia, jaundice, and respiratory symptoms. The disease later progresses to a latent phase with less symptoms and ultimately into a chronic or obstructive phase months to years later. In the chronic state the disease causes inflammation of the bile ducts, gall bladder and may cause gall stones as well as fibrosis. While chronic inflammation is connected to increased cancer rates, it is unclear whether fasciolosis is associated with increased cancer risk.
Albendazole is a broad-spectrum antihelmintic and antiprotozoal agent of the benzimidazole type. It is used for the treatment of a variety of intestinal parasite infections, including ascariasis, pinworm infection, hookworm infection, trichuriasis, strongyloidiasis, taeniasis, clonorchiasis, opisthorchiasis, cutaneous larva migrans, giardiasis, and gnathostomiasis, among other diseases.
Fasciola hepatica, also known as the common liver fluke or sheep liver fluke, is a parasitic trematode of the class Trematoda, phylum Platyhelminthes. It infects the livers of various mammals, including humans, and is transmitted by sheep and cattle to humans all over the world. The disease caused by the fluke is called fasciolosis or fascioliasis, which is a type of helminthiasis and has been classified as a neglected tropical disease. Fasciolosis is currently classified as a plant/food-borne trematode infection, often acquired through eating the parasite's metacercariae encysted on plants. F. hepatica, which is distributed worldwide, has been known as an important parasite of sheep and cattle for decades and causes significant economic losses in these livestock species, up to £23 million in the UK alone. Because of its relatively large size and economic importance, it has been the subject of many scientific investigations and may be the best-known of any trematode species. F. hepatica's closest relative is Fasciola gigantica. These two flukes are sister species; they share many morphological features and can mate with each other.
Fascioloides magna, also known as giant liver fluke, large American liver fluke or deer fluke, is trematode parasite that occurs in wild and domestic ruminants in North America and Europe. Adult flukes occur in the liver of the definitive host and feed on blood. Mature flukes measure 4 to 10 centimetres in length × 2 to 3.5 centimetres in width, and have an oval dorso-ventrally flattened body with oral and ventral sucker. The flukes are reddish-brown in colour and are covered by tegument. As with other digenean trematodes, the life cycle includes intramolluscan phase in snails. The parasite is currently distributed in wild ruminants in North America and Europe, including Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, and the United States.
Moxidectin is an anthelmintic drug used in animals to prevent or control parasitic worms (helminths), such as heartworm and intestinal worms, in dogs, cats, horses, cattle and sheep. Moxidectin kills some of the most common internal and external parasites by selectively binding to a parasite's glutamate-gated chloride ion channels. These channels are vital to the function of invertebrate nerve and muscle cells; when moxidectin binds to the channels, it disrupts neurotransmission, resulting in paralysis and death of the parasite.
Parasitic worms, also known as helminths, are large macroparasites; adults can generally be seen with the naked eye. Many are intestinal worms that are soil-transmitted and infect the gastrointestinal tract. Other parasitic worms such as schistosomes reside in blood vessels.
Dicrocoelium dendriticum, the lancet liver fluke, is a parasite fluke that tends to live in cattle or other grazing mammals.
Fenbendazole is a broad spectrum benzimidazole anthelmintic used against gastrointestinal parasites including: giardia, roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, the tapeworm genus Taenia, pinworms, aelurostrongylus, paragonimiasis, strongyles, and strongyloides that can be administered to sheep, cattle, horses, fish, dogs, cats, rabbits, most reptiles, freshwater shrimp tanks as planaria and hydra treatments, as well as seals.
Polled livestock are livestock without horns in species which are normally horned. The term refers to both breeds and strains that are naturally polled through selective breeding and also to naturally horned animals that have been disbudded. Natural polling occurs in cattle, yaks, water buffalo, and goats, and in these animals it affects both sexes equally; in sheep, by contrast, both sexes may be horned, both polled, or only the females polled. The history of breeding polled livestock starts about 6000 years BC.
Sheep or domestic sheep are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term sheep can apply to other species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sheep. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Numbering a little over one billion, domestic sheep are also the most numerous species of sheep. An adult female is referred to as a ewe, an intact male as a ram, occasionally a tup, a castrated male as a wether, and a young sheep as a lamb.
Schistosoma indicum is a species of digenetic trematode in the family Schistosomatidae. The parasite is widespread in domestic animals in India and other Asian countries.
Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting in order to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals who are raised for consumption, and sometimes used to refer solely to farmed ruminants, such as cattle, sheep, and goats. Horses are considered livestock in the United States. The USDA classifies pork, veal, beef, and lamb (mutton) as livestock, and all livestock as red meat. Poultry and fish are not included in the category. The latter is likely due to the fact that fish products are not governed by the USDA, but by the FDA.
Norbrook is a United Kingdom-based pharmaceutical company. It was founded in 1969 by Lord Ballyedmond as Norbrook Laboratories Ltd in Northern Ireland. In 1970, Norbrook began manufacturing of veterinary pharmaceuticals. In 2011 the Norbrook Group was listed by the Belfast Telegraph in its Top 100 Companies list as being in position 28.
Teladorsagia circumcincta is a nematode that is one of the most important parasites of sheep and goats. It was previously known as Ostertagia circumcincta and is colloquially known as the brown stomach worm. It is common in cool, temperate areas, such as south-eastern and south-western Australia and the United Kingdom. There is considerable variation among lambs and kids in susceptibility to infection. Much of the variation is genetic and influences the immune response. The parasite induces a type I hypersensitivity response which is responsible for the relative protein deficiency which is characteristic of severely infected animals. There are mechanistic mathematical models which can predict the course of infection. There are a variety of ways to control the infection and a combination of control measures is likely to provide the most effective and sustainable control.
Paramphistomum cervi, the type species of Paramphistomum, is a parasitic flat worm belonging to the class Trematoda. It is a tiny fluke mostly parasitising livestock ruminants, as well as some wild mammals. Uniquely, unlike most parasites, the adult worms are relatively harmless, but it is the developing juveniles that cause serious disease called paramphistomiasis, especially in cattle and sheep. Its symptoms include profuse diarrhoea, anaemia, lethargy, and often result in death if untreated.
Paramphistomum is a genus of parasitic flatworms belonging to the digenetic trematodes. It includes flukes which are mostly parasitising livestock ruminants, as well as some wild mammals. They are responsible for the serious disease called paramphistomiasis, also known as amphistomosis, especially in cattle and sheep. Its symptoms include profuse diarrhoea, anaemia, lethargy, and often result in death if untreated. They are found throughout the world, and most abundantly in livestock farming regions such as Australia, Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Russia.
Amphistomiasis is a parasitic disease of livestock animals, more commonly of cattle and sheep, and humans caused by immature helminthic flatworms belonging to the order Echinostomida. The term amphistomiasis is used for broader connotation implying the disease inflicted by members of Echinostomida including the family Paramphistomidae/Gastrodiscidae ; whereas paramphistomiasis is restricted to that of the members of the family Paramphistomidae only. G. discoides and Watsonius watsoni are responsible for the disease in humans, while most paramphistomes are responsible in livestock animals, and some wild mammals. In livestock industry the disease causes heavy economic backlashes due to poor production of milk, meat and wool.
Cattle drenching is the process of administering chemical solutions (anthelmintics) to cattle or Bos taurus with the purpose of protecting livestock from various parasites including worms, fluke, cattle ticks, lice and flies. Parasites hinder the production of cattle through living off their host and carrying diseases that can be transmitted to cattle. Cattle drenches can be applied through a solution poured on the back, throat or an injection. Cattle drenches are predominately necessary for young cattle with weaker immune systems that are susceptible to parasite infestation. Drenching is a common method for controlling parasites in the meat and dairy industries. Drenching cattle improves the health, condition and fertility of cattle leading to increased calving rates, weight gain, hide condition and milk production.
