The purported antiparasitic properties of plant secondary metabolites (PSM) have been the cause of controversy amongst the scientific community. Despite long-standing knowledge of the prophylactic and therapeutic properties of PSM-rich extracts, which comes mainly from ethnoveterinary sources, the scientific evidence of the antiparasitic effects of PSM is inconsistent. In the first part of the ...

Fumi Varyani, John O. Fleming, and Rick M. Maizels Wellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom; Edinburgh Clinical Academic Track, Western General Hospital, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom; and Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health,...

Male vertebrates are believed to be disproportionately vulnerable to parasites, but empirical support for this contention is mixed. We tested the hypothesis of higher levels of parasitism in males with the use of counts of gastrointestinal helminths in 5 sympatric mammalian carnivores (American badgers, coyotes, red foxes, raccoons, striped skunks) from central Saskatchewan. Parasite burdens fo...

Human gastrointestinal parasites are good indicators for hygienic conditions and health status of past and present individuals and communities. While microscopic analysis of eggs in sediments of archeological sites often allows their taxonomic identification, this method is rarely effective at the species level, and requires both the survival of intact eggs and their proper identification. Geno...

Helminths are known to be a major constraint to ruminant’s well-being and productive performance. Gastrointestinal helminths are widespread parasitic agents of livestock especially in small ruminants. Helminthiasis plays an important role in the small ruminant production leading to enormous economic losses in areas where extensive grazing is practiced. Haemonchosis is caused by the hematophagou...

A total of 206 ducks were subjected to routine postmortem examinations from July 2007 to June 2008. Of the ducks examined, 167 (81.1 %) were infected by one/more species of gastro-intestinal helminths. A total of ten species of helminth parasites were recovered from gastrointestinal tract, of which four species were trematodes namely: Echinostoma revolutum, Notocotylus attenuatus, Hypoderaeum c...

A literature survey revealed that 72 helminth species, including 14 known only to the generic level, had been reported from the digestive or respiratory tracts of 28 species of Anatidae in Africa. Most of the digeneans and nematodes reported, were cosmopolitan species that occur in a range of hosts. However, two groups of cestodes, one consisting of cosmopolitan or Eurasian species and the othe...

Gastrointestinal parasitism is a widely recognised problem in sheep production, particularly for lambs. While anthelmintics have a pivotal role in controlling the effects of parasites, there is a paucity of data on how farmers use anthelmintics. A representative sample of Irish lowland farmers were surveyed regarding their parasite control practices and risk factors that may contribute to the d...