title: Relationship between exposure to Fasciola hepatica in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and cattle extensively reared in an endemic area.
abstract: The aim of this work is to know the prevalence of Fasciola hepatica in 301 roe deer and in 676 beef cattle kept in an endemic area. Detection of antibodies was determined in roe deer using a homemade ELISA with excretory/secretory antigens (FhES) and a recombinant protein (FhrAPS). None of the deer passed eggs by faeces and none flukes in their livers were found. The seroprevalence of F. hepatica was 29% using FhES, with significantly higher values in the oldest ones (36%). Twenty-eight percent of the samples were positive to FhrAPS. Twenty-three percent of the cows eliminated eggs of F. hepatica and the seroprevalence was 67% using FhrAPS. No relationship between the seropositivity values of deer and cattle was demonstrated. The role of wild ruminants as reservoirs of F. hepatica is discussed. We encourage the use of ELISA to know the possibility of exposure to trematodes in wild ruminants.
authors.affiliation: Animal Pathology Department, Veterinary Faculty, Santiago de Compostela University, 27002 Lugo, Spain. Electronic address: mariasol.arias@usc.es.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Arias
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Piñeiro
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Andrade
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Suárez
authors.forename: G V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Hillyer
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Díez-Baños
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Paz-Silva
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Morrondo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000469:parasitology; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D003670:Deer / Q000469:parasitology*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000662:veterinary; D005210:Fasciola hepatica / Q000502:physiology*; D005211:Fascioliasis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D008099:Liver / Q000469:parasitology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Cattle; ELISA; Fasciola hepatica; NW Spain; Roe deer; Sharing pastures