Veterinary World, Vol.2(7):271-273 RESEARCH
Coprological
Diagnosis of Ovine Schistosomosis by different
laboratory techniques
Sumi Cherian1 and Placid.E.D’Souza2
Centre of Advanced Studies, Department of Parasitology,
Abstract
Schistosomosis, a
chronic and wasting illness of livestock has been underestimated and
undiagnosed due to various intrinsic factors. The diagnosis of the disease in
small ruminants, especially in sheep, has not received due attention, inspite of the striking reports of mortality from many
parts of the country. In the present investigation, the efficacy of four
different methods viz., Direct Examination, Formal Ether Technique,
Alkaline Digestion and Miracidial Hatching Test were
evaluated for the detection of ovine schistosomosis. Faecal samples from 650 sheep belonging to 15 districts of
Karnataka were screened for schistosome egg or miracidia, out of which 44 (6.76%) samples were positive.
Majority of the cases had Schistosoma indicum infection (93.1 %) and very few were positive
for S.spindale. Miracidial
Hatching Test was found to be superior in detecting natural ovine schistosomosis, followed by Alkaline Digestion and Formal
Ether Technique. Direct examination detected none of the cases as positive.
Keywords: Livestock, Schistosomosis,
Laboratory Technique, Coprological Diagnosis, Small
Ruminant, Wasting illness.