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Diagnosis and Risk Factors of Bovine and Human Fascioliasis in Cattle Farms from a Venezuelan Andean Rural Area

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Abstract

Introduction

Fascioliasis is caused in Venezuela by the trematode Fasciola hepatica, affecting herbivorous and human. The Venezuelan Andean region is endemic for bovine fascioliasis and its presence in humans is not known. The objective of this work was to detected positive cases of bovine and human fascioliasis by coprological and immunological techniques and determine the possible risk factors, in eight cattle farms of a Venezuelan Andean rural area.

Methods

We studied 143 samples of feces and sera of bovines, and 34 samples of feces and sera of humans. Feces were examined by several coprologic techniques, while sera were evaluated by ELISA using two antigens: crude extract (CE) and surface proteins (SP) of F. hepatica, which were previously standardized and validated.

Results

The frequency of fascioliasis in bovines was 21% by coprology, and 49.7% by SP-ELISA. The human detection was 0% by coprology, and 29.4% by SP-ELISA. There were statistical significative differences between cattle farms, regarding to the positive results by coprology and by SP-ELISA. About the possible risk factors, statistical association was found only with the presence of snails near or in the farms and consumption of non-channeled water (river, ditch or spring), both for cattle and for humans.

Conclusion

The results showed that the studied area is endemic for bovine fascioliasis, the human has been in contact with F. hepatica and there are risk factors for the transmission of the parasite in the studied farms.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partially funded by the Universidad de Carabobo (Grant number DIPISA-PG-2017-004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Departamento de ParasitologĂ­a, Universidad de Carabobo Sede Aragua, Maracay, Estado Aragua, Venezuela

    Yeasiry Corrales, Elizabeth Ferrer & José Fernández

  2. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas “Dr, Francisco J. Triana Alonso”, Universidad de Carabobo Sede Aragua, Maracay, Estado Aragua, Venezuela

    Elizabeth Ferrer & José Fernández

  3. Centro Nacional de Investigaciones AgrĂ­colas y Pecuarias (CENIAP), Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones AgrĂ­colas (INIA), Ministerio del Poder Popular Para la ProducciĂłn AgrĂ­cola (MPPPA, Maracay, Estado Aragua, Venezuela

    José Fernández

  4. Cátedra de Sanidad Animal (Agrotecnia), Instituto Universitario Tecnológico de Ejido (IUTE) Extensión Bailadores, Bailadores, Estado Mérida, Venezuela

    José Gauta

  5. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Cátedra de Parasitología Veterinaria, Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV-FCV), Maracay, Estado Aragua, Venezuela

    Marielena García, Aixa Aguirre & Arlett Pérez

Authors
  1. Yeasiry Corrales
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  2. Elizabeth Ferrer
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  3. José Fernández
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  4. José Gauta
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  5. Marielena GarcĂ­a
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  6. Aixa Aguirre
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  7. Arlett PĂ©rez
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elizabeth Ferrer.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interest.

Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

The project was approved by the Committee of Bioethics of the Institute of Biomedical Researches of the University of Carabobo (BIOMED-UC), following the guidelines for humans and animals care by the Commission of Bioethics of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the “Operational Guidelines for Ethics Committees that Review Biomedical Research” (TDR/PRD/ETHICS/2000.1). For to obtain blood and stool samples from human and animals, the participating and the animal’s owners signed an informed consent and the samples were obtained according to the ethical rules. In the case of underage participants, a written consent for participation was requested and signed by the parents or legally authorized representatives.

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Corrales, Y., Ferrer, E., Fernández, J. et al. Diagnosis and Risk Factors of Bovine and Human Fascioliasis in Cattle Farms from a Venezuelan Andean Rural Area. Acta Parasit. 66, 1048–1054 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11686-021-00341-3

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