A REVIEW ON OVINE FASCIOLOLSIS

Fascioliasis is a common disease of sheep and other ruminants caused by F. hepatica and F. gigantica. The disease is worldwide in distribution and is liable for causing extensive economic losses to the livestock industry encompassing reductions in weight gain, wool production and fertility. It is caused by two members of genus Fasciola; Fasciola (F.) gigantica and F. hepatica. Fasciolosis is also known as, fasciolasis, distomatosis and liver rot. It occasionally affects humans, hence considered as a zoonotic disease. The life cycle of these trematodes involves snail as an intermediate host (IH). The epidemiology of fascioliasis is strictly linked to the geographical and environmental characteristics of the area where transmission occurs. The disease mostly diagnosed by prior knowledge of the epidemiology of the disease in a given environment; observation of clinical signs, information on grazing history, seasonal occurrence and standard examination of feces in the laboratory. The affected sheep should be effectively treated with oral administration of a narrow spectrum anthelmintic such as Triclabendazole in addition to reducing the population of the intermediate host to control the disease. Now a days, fasciolosis is recognized as emerging human disease over the world even if only few case reports of human fascioliasis are available in Ethiopia, as the disease mostly affects animals in the country. It causes several economic losses. The losses may be direct or indirect. Treatment of infected animals will largely depend on the correct use of appropriate and registered anthelmintics. Ovine fasciolosis may be controlled by reducing the populations of the intermediate snail hosts and by appropriate anthelmintic treatment. Key words: Anthelmintic, Ethiopia, Fasciola, Ovine