Fascioliasis among animal, snail and human hosts in Kafr El-Sheikh governorate with special reference to species infecting humans

ABSTRACT

The present study was aimed at determining the source and species of Fasciola that infect human donkeys in Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate in the West of the Nile Delta in Egypt, and to determine which snail species act as intermediate hosts for Fasciola infection in this area. The study recorded the presence of Fasciola infection in 3 native breed local non-imported hosts other than man in 6 climaticly selected sites in Kafr-El-Sheikh Governorate, Egypt. A percentage of 14.5%, 26.6%, 12.28% and 6.02 from the examined buffaloes, sheep, donkeys and human respectively sharing incontamination of the neuter around the present human by different Fasciola eggs. The incidence was high in summer and autumn than the other seasons and it was higher in Sedi Salem and Motobus than the other study sites. Examination of 100 eggs from each host showed egg size can not be used as a main criteria in differentiation between F. hepatica and gigantca. Fasciola eggs of different size were extracted from gall bladder of some slaughtered cases in which the flukes detected in the liver were identified as F. gigantica only. Upon dissection of 1972 L. caillaudi, 268 L. alexandrina, 502 Bulinus species, 11316 B. alexandrina, 1398 Cleopatra species, 8520 Physa acuta, 420 Melania tuberculata, 2132 Vivipara [Bellamya] unicolar, 144 Neritina nilotica and 1570 Planorbis philippi, Fasciola parthenitae were not detected in snails other than L. Caillaudi [the known IMH of Fasciola in Egypt]. The fact proved that there is no accomodation was occurred in any of the surrounding snail to transmit Fasciola to animal or man. The present study showed that Fasciola of human and donkeys in the study sites was Fasciola gigantica not F. hepatica, this appear in its tendency to develop in L. caillaudi not in L. truncatula snails with successive radial generation as that described previously for F. gigantica. Moreover early mature fluke extracted from laboratory infected rabbits by the produced encysted metacercariae had the characteristic features described previously for F. gigantica