Fasciola hepatica IN HORSES OF MENDOZA PROVINCE, ARGENTINA

SIDOTI LAURA; CUERVO PABLO; ANTONELLA R. R. CÁCERES; MERA Y SIERRA ROBERTO

Exposici�n; XXVI Annual Scientific Meeting of Cuyo Biology Society; 2008

Sociedad Biológica de Cuyo

Fasciolosis is an economically important disease of domestic livestock, in particular cattle and sheep, and occasionally man. The disease is caused by digenean trematodes of the genus Fasciola. Horses are recognized as reservoirs in other parts of the world but there are no publications describing the disease in horses from Argentina. Our objective was to investigate the presence of Fasciola hepatica in horses where the disease is known to be endemic in ruminants. In August 2008 in a farm in Lujan, Mendoza, where cases of fasciolosis had been diagnosed in sheep, goats and cattle, 7 horses where sampled. The faeces where retrieved directly from the rectum. In the laboratory, the following techniques were done: Sheathers sugar flotation, Formalin-Ether sedimentation and Lumbreras rapid Sedimentation. Fasciola hepatica eggs where found in 3 horses (43%), strongyle eggs in 3 horses (43%). This is the first report of Fasciolosis in horses in Mendoza province, Argentina. Since there is an important horse population in the province which is used for sport, transport, recreational and agricultural activities, this disease should be taken into consideration and further studies should determine the roles of horses in the epidemiology of fasciolosis in Mendoza surrounding provinces.