Importance and potential impact of liver fluke in cattle and buffalo

Abstract

Introduction: In this study the potential importance of liver fluke was estimated by considering the impacts of infection at the level of individual animals, farms or smallholdings, regions, countries and globally. Economic costs have been estimated for different reasons including the justification and creation of research or control programs, to design control programs to ensure that they are targeted correctly, and to assess the impact of control programs. The total global economic loss attributed to fasciolosis has been estimated earlier to be more than US$3 billion per year (FAO 1994). This chapter reviews studies that may be used to estimate the losses caused by fasciolosis, with a focus on large ruminants in Asia.© Commonwealth of Australia 2009.