Fasciolosis is recognised as a major problem in dairy cattle in parts of Peru. A longitudinal study of dairy cattle in Cajamarca, Peru was used to determine the annual pattern of infection with Fasciola hepatica. After a gradual increase from January, peak egg production occurred in August/September and then dropped rapidly. Indirect indicators of infection, eosinophil counts and serum liver-enzyme activities, indicated that the major period of new infection in cattle occurred from December to May each year. Examination of snails demonstrated that, although there was no clear annual cycle in snail abundance, the majority of snails infected with cercariae were found between January and March. Climatological data indicated that there was sufficient moisture for development of the parasite during a limited period each year, coinciding with the period of maximum abundance of cercaria-infecte...

Fasciolosis is recognised as a major problem in dairy cattle in Cajamarca, Peru. The infection has an annual cycle, with the major period of infection from January to March. A control programme, involving two doses of the fasciolicide triclabendazole aimed at reducing the passage of Fasciola hepatica eggs on to the pasture, together with the use of the molluscicide, niclosamide, was evaluated against traditional treatment programmes. The double treatment regimen did not significantly reduce the overall parasite burden, as measured by faecal egg counts, but did control the parasites to a level similar to that achieved by traditional programmes averaging 3-7 treatments per year. The cows' eosinophil counts and serum liver enzyme activities were significantly lower than in animals treated by the traditional programmes. The use of niclosamide in addition to the triclabendazole treatments gav...

Standard haematological values have been calculated for female Holstein and Brown Swiss cattle kept at high altitudes in the Andean Sierra. Overall mean values were 5·9 × 1012 l−1 for the red cell count, 0·321l−1 for the packed cell volume, 9·6 gdl−1 for the haemoglobin concentration, 55·0 femtolitres for the mean corpuscular volume, 30·5 gdl−1 for the mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration and 16·7 pg for mean corpuscular haemoglobin. Red cell indices tended to be higher in Holstein cattle than in Brown Swiss kept at the same altitude and were higher in cattle kept at higher altitudes. Mean white cell parameters were 9·7 × 109 l−1 for total white cells, 2·6 × 109 l−1 for neutrophils, 0·086 × 109 l−1 for bands, 6·3 × 109 l−1 for lymphocytes, 0·7 × 109 l−1 for eosinophils, 0·073 × 109 l−1 for monocytes and 0·001 × 109 l−1 for basophils.

The experiment aimed to measure the effect of constant and variable temperatures on the growth of Lymnaea viatrix snails, on the development of a Peruvian isolate of Fasciola hepatica eggs and on the development of F. hepatica in the snails. This was carried out by cultivating infected and uninfected snails and fluke eggs in artificial, temperature controlled chambers. L. viatrix snails were found to develop at a rate dependent on environmental temperature, but developed at least as well under conditions of varying temperature as at the same mean constant temperature. F. hepatica eggs held at constant or varying temperatures, developed at a rate comparable to other reports. However, eggs developing at varying temperatures appeared to have reduced hatchability. Parasite development within the snails was slow, though within the limits calculated from the literature, and varying temperature...

Fasciola hepatica causes significant morbidity and mortality in dairy cattle in the Andean region of Cajamarca, Peru, where prevalence of infection of up to 78% has been reported. ELISA and Western blot analyses were used to characterise antibody responses in dairy cattle to adult F. hepatica to excretory-secretory (E/S), somatic (SO) and surface (SU) antigens. Three groups of dairy cattle - calves, heifers and adult cows - naturally exposed to F. hepatica in this region, were monitored every 2 months over a 2-year period. Calves, heifers and adult cows all had antibodies which recognised a 28kDa protein in the SO preparation, whereas only adult cows had antibodies that recognised a 28kDa protein in E/S products. All three groups of cattle responded to a 60-66kDa group of proteins in E/S and SU preparations and a 17kDa antigen in SO products was recognised by antibodies from cows and hei...