Difference between revisions of "Dicrocoelium dendriticum"

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== ''Dicrocoelium dendriticum'' ==
 
== ''Dicrocoelium dendriticum'' ==
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[[Image:Dicrocoelium dendriticum.jpg|thumb|right|150px|''Dicrocoelium dendriticum'' - Joaquim Castellà Veterinary Parasitology Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona]]
 
*This is a small fluke (less than 1.5cm) found in the bile ducts of ruminants and some other herbivores.
 
*This is a small fluke (less than 1.5cm) found in the bile ducts of ruminants and some other herbivores.
 
*The flukes migrate directly up the common bile duct to reach the bile ducts within the liver - they are therefore much less pathogenic than ''Fasciola'' (which burrow through the liver parenchyma).
 
*The flukes migrate directly up the common bile duct to reach the bile ducts within the liver - they are therefore much less pathogenic than ''Fasciola'' (which burrow through the liver parenchyma).

Revision as of 14:41, 22 December 2008

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PARASITES
TREMATODES



Dicrocoelium dendriticum

Dicrocoelium dendriticum - Joaquim Castellà Veterinary Parasitology Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
  • This is a small fluke (less than 1.5cm) found in the bile ducts of ruminants and some other herbivores.
  • The flukes migrate directly up the common bile duct to reach the bile ducts within the liver - they are therefore much less pathogenic than Fasciola (which burrow through the liver parenchyma).
  • Dicrocoelium is rare in Britain, occurring mainly in the Hebrides, but is common in Europe.
  • Small dark-brown eggs are shed in faeces.
  • These contain a miracidium.
  • If ingested by a land snail, the flukes develop, forming cercariae.
  • These are excreted by the snails in slime-balls, which are collected and eaten by wood-ants.
  • Metacercariae form inside the ants.
  • The final host is infected when ants are eaten with grass.
  • The presence of metacercariae in the nerve ganglia of the ants makes them revert to a primitive behaviour pattern, whereby they cling onto herbage overnight instead of retreating to the nest.
  • This enhances the likelihood of being eaten by grazing animals.