Rumen fluke in South American camelids in Great Britain

Rumen fluke infections have been increasingly diagnosed in cattle and sheep in Great Britain in recent years (Foster and others 2008), primarily through the detection of rumen fluke eggs in faecal samples, with a peak in total diagnoses in 2013 after the wet summer and autumn of 2012 (APHA 2015). Alpacas and llamas are herbivorous but not true ruminants, and have three stomachs or compartments – C1, C2 and C3 (C1 is similar to the rumen, C2 to the reticulum and C3 to the abomasum). Rumen fluke eggs in faeces, or adult rumen fluke seen at postmortem examination, have been detected and coded only seven times in South American camelids since 2010 on the VIDA database across Great Britain. In contrast, 100 diagnoses of liver fluke have been recorded since 2010 on VIDA (eggs in faeces and at postmortem examination) in camelids. Rumen and liver fluke eggs are detected using the same faecal examination techniques. Clinical disease due to immature rumen fluke infestation (adult …