Lancet fluke in the liver of a bison
Jacob Avula, Siobhan O’Sullivan, Tim Pasma
Animal Health Laboratory, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON.
AHL Newsletter 2024;28(3):11.
Dicrocoelium dendriticum, otherwise known as lancet fluke or small liver fluke, has been reported in sheep, goats, cattle and a miniature horse in Ontario. A detailed description of the cases, including the life cycle, was provided by previous authors. The occurrence of this parasite in a bison is herewith reported.
The bison, which was located in Southwestern Ontario, was taken to the butcher. The meat inspector noticed tracts in the liver and wanted the liver examined and the parasite identified. Few adult parasites were recovered from the bile ducts of the liver at AHL, and the parasites were identified as Dicrocoelium dendriticum, based on the morphological characteristics (Fig. 1). AHL
Figure 1. Dicrocoelium dendriticum.
References
1. Stalker MJ, et al. Hepatic infection with the lancet fluke, Dicrocoelium dendriticum, in an Ontario sheep flock. AHL Newsletter, Sept. 2007:22-24.
2. Hazlett M, et al. Dicrocoelium dendriticum in the liver of a miniature horse. AHL newsletter, March 2019:12.
3. Soulsby, EJL. Helminths, Arthropods and Protozoa of Domesticated animals. 7th Edition, Philadelphia, USA : Bailliere Tindall, 1982: pages 24-25.