Fasciola hepaticainfections in cattle and the freshwater snailGalba truncatulafrom Dakhla Oasis, Egypt

Abstract

AbstractInfection byFasciolaspecies was investigated in seven districts of Dakhla Oasis, Egypt, through abattoir inspection of cattle livers for adult worms and sedimentation of faecal samples from local cattle to detectFasciolaeggs. In addition, lymnaeid snails collected from the study area were examined microscopically for developmental stages ofFasciolaspp. Abattoir inspection revealed that 51 out of 458 cattle livers (11.1%) contained adult flukes, which were identified morphologically asFasciola hepatica.Examination of the cattle faecal samples revealed that 142 out of 503 (28.2%) containedFasciolaeggs. The collected snails, identified asGalba truncatulaandRadix natalensis,showed larval stages ofFasciolain 71 out of 731 (9.7%)G. truncatula, whileR. natalensisshowed no infection. Specific duplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the mitochondrialcox1gene ofF. hepaticaandFasciola giganticawas carried out on DNA extracted from pooled infected snails and adult worms. TheF. hepaticasize amplicon (1031 bp) was obtained from both the infectedG. truncatulaand the adult worms isolated from cattle livers from different districts. The amplicon sequences were identical to the published sequences ofF. hepaticamitochondrialcox1gene. In conclusion, the zoonotic importance ofFasciolainfection and appropriate hygienic measures must be taken into consideration in Dakhla Oasis, Egypt.