Liver Disease in Farm Animals Flashcards
What is the lifecycle of Fasciola hepatica?
- Eggs –> Motile ciliated miracidia
- Minimum 9 days at 22-26oC
- Min day/night temp of 10oC for any development
- Miracidia must penetrate Galba truncatula (intermediate host) within 3 hours in order to survive
- Miracidia Þ Metacercaria
- Minimum 7 weeks (often more) within snail
- Min day/night temp of 10oC for any development
- 1 miracidia can produce 600 metacercariae
- Shed metacercaria encyst and become infective on blades of grass
- Metacercariae ingested by final host migrate across the gut wall and peritoneum, and penetrate the liver capsule
- Developing fluke migrate through the parenchyma (6-8 weeks) until they reach the small bile ducts
- Migrate into large bile ducts and mature over a further 4 weeks
- Mature fluke begin egg laying
- Minimum period of life cycle completion is 17-19 weeks
- Temperature only adequate in the UK between April and October
- Rainfall important
What is Galba truncatula?
What does it feed on?
What are its habitats?
- 5-10mm, 5-6 spirals
- Feeds on algae
- Like slightly acidic environment with slow moving water
- Habitats
- Ditch, pond and stream banks
- Boggy / marshy land
- Hoofmarks and wheel ruts following heavy rain or flooding
- Like warm and wet conditions
- Mean day/night temp of 10oC necessary for breeding
- Rainfall is the main influence on size of population
What pathology does Galba truncatula cause?
- Parenchymal destruction during migration
- Degree depends on numbers
- Numbers of eggs ingested depends on snail population
- Inflammation and fibrosis result
- Degree of fibrosis depend on level of damage
- Very rarely can damage large blood vessel leading to haemorrhage
- Anaerobic environment can activate Black disease (Infectious necrotic hepatitis)
- Fluke in bile ducts
- Anaemia (depending on numbers)
- Inflammation and fibrosis
- Anaemia (depending on numbers)
What does fasciola hepatica do to the parachyma?
- Parenchymal destruction during migration
- Degree depends on numbers
- Numbers of eggs ingested depends on snail population
- Inflammation and fibrosis result
- Degree of fibrosis depend on level of damage
What can fasciola hepatica sometimes damage in severe cases and what does this lead to?
Very rarely can damage large blood vessel leading to haemorrhage
With fasciola hepatica, what happens if you get fluke in the bile ducts?
- Anaemia (depending on numbers)
- Inflammation and fibrosis
What are the ACUTE clinical signs of fasciola hepatica in sheep?
- Late autumn / early winter
- Large numbers of migrating fluke in liver
- Anaemia – Pale mucus membranes / weak
- Hypoalbuminaemia
- Rapidly fatal, animals often found dead
What are the SUB-ACUTE clinical signs of fasciola hepatica in sheep?
- Late autumn / early winter
- Rapid condition loss
- Anaemia
- Oedema (Submandibular in sheep “Bottle Jaw”)
- Colic
What are the CHRONIC clinical signs of fasciola hepatica in sheep?
- Winter / Early spring
- Adult fluke sucking blood in bile ducts
- Poor condition
- Anaemia
- Hypoalbuminaemia
- Submandibular oedema
- Chronic scour
What are the ACUTE clinical signs of fasciola hepatica in cattle?
- Rare in cattle
- Fibrous nature of liver
- Acquired immunity does develop and provides protection (NB whilst antibody can be detected in sheep it appears to be non-protective)
What are the CHRONIC clinical signs of Galba truncatula in cattle?
- Similar presentation to sheep
- Brisket and ventral oedema also seen
What are the SUBCLINICAL clinical signs of fasciola hepatica in cattle?
- Increasingly recognised
- Poor performance (reduced growth rate / reduced yield / loss of condition / predisposes to other disease)
- Increased risk of Salmonella dublin?
What is the diagnosis of fasciola hepatica?
- Post mortem (Acute and Chronic disease)
- Fluke in parenchyma and bile ducts
- Elevation of liver enzymes
- AST and / or GLDH (Acute and chronic disease)
- yGT (Chronic disease. Bile duct damage)
- Faecal egg count
- Adults must be present, therefore chronic only
What is the clinical pathology of Fasciola hepatica - what are the biochemical tests used in farm animals?
- Aspartate aminotransferase (AST)
- Not liver specific, also produced from cardiac and skeletal muscle
- Gamma glutamyltransferase (γGT)
- Good indicator of bile duct damage
- Glutamate dyhydrogenase (GLDH)
- Liver specific, elevated in acute disease
- Sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH)
- Liver specific, elevated in acute disease
- Bilirubin
- Conjugated increased with bile duct obstruction
- Unconjugated increased in haemolytic anaemia
What is the diagnosis on biochem tests for fasciola hpatica?
- Eosinophilia
- Indicative of parasitic infection
- Particularly useful in sub-clinically affected cattle
- Blood antibody ELISA
- NB Only indicates exposure (could be historic)
- Not protective in sheep
- Bulk Milk antibody ELISA
- Result indicates degree of (historic) exposure of the whole dairy herd
- NB Diagnosis in one animal may suggest all animals in the group will be affected
What is the treatment for fasciola hepatica?
- Triclabendazole
- Active against all stages (immature – adult)
- Resistance now starting to appear
- e.g. “Fasinex”, “Tribex” “Combinex” (with levamisole)
- Sheep and cattle by drench
- Nitroxynil
- Adults (minor effect on late immature fluke, label claim)
- e.g. “Trodax”
- Sheep and cattle by subcutaneous injection
- Closantel
- Adults/late immature stages
- e.g. “Flukiver”
- Sheep by drench
- Clorsulon
- Adult fluke only
- e.g. “Ivomec super” (with ivermectin)
- Cattle by subcutaneous injection
- Oxyclozanide
- Adult fluke only
- e.g. “Zanil” (licensed for lactating dairy cows, 3d w/d)
- e.g. “Levafas” and “Nilzan” (both with levamisole)
- Sheep and cattle by mouth
- Albendazole also has activity against adult fluke
What stages of fasciola hepatica is TRICLABENDAZOLE active against?
Resistance?
Which animals and route?
- Triclabendazole
- Active against all stages (immature – adult)
- Resistance now starting to appear
- e.g. “Fasinex”, “Tribex” “Combinex” (with levamisole)
- Sheep and cattle by drench
What stages of fasciola hepatica is NITROXYNIL active against?
Which animals and route?
- Nitroxynil
- Adults (minor effect on late immature fluke, label claim)
- e.g. “Trodax”
- Sheep and cattle by subcutaneous injection
What stages of fasciola hepatica is CLOSANTEL active against?
Which animals and route?
- Closantel
- Adults/late immature stages
- e.g. “Flukiver”
- Sheep by drench