Comparative immunological and coprological screening of Fasciolosis in cattle

Abstract

The main objectives of this study were to establish comparative advantage of immunological screening over coprological screening of Fasciolosis in cattle, find the true prevalence rate of Fasciolosis in cattle, and establish the cost-effectiveness of post-screening treatment over current unsystematic treatment practice. A total of 228 faecal and serum samples were collected from one Geog each of three Dzongkhags and two government cattle farms. The immunological testing was carried out using Pourqueir ELISA screening kit for Fasciola f2 antibodies. Sedimentation method followed by Stoll method was used for coprological testing. The study revealed an extremely significant difference (p≤0.01) in the results between the types of tests. The study detected Fasciola prevalence rate of 42.5% (95%CI: 36.09-49.25) and 18% (95%CI: 13.5-23.72) by immunological and coprological screenings, respectively indicating that the immunological method is more sensitive than coprological screening. Coprological screening two weeks post-screening treatment of positive animals with triclabendazole (TCBZ) in one study location showed 100% clearing of infestation. This indicates cost-effectiveness of “test and treat” approach to bovine Fasciolosis control. Thus, the early immune-diagnosis of bovine fasciolosis using the specific f2 antigen could be an ideal alternative to the current faecal egg count method.