Fascioliasis in working mules in endemic andean areas of Mendoza Province, Argentina

Abstract

Fascioliasis, the affection caused by Fasciola sp. is an important livestock disease and major threat to human health (in Latin America only F. hepatica is present). Although fascioliasis is widely studied in several domestic species, in Argentina, the affection in equines, and particularly mules, is not even considered, thus not studied. Argentina has a quite remarkable tradition regarding mules, since they took part in every major event along the country history: from an intense commerce during colonialism with several neighbouring countries, crossing the Andes with the Ejército Libertador to fight against realists and liberate southern America from the Spanish oppression, to every transcendental conflict in the political conformation of such a wide and diverse nation.