Toxocara vitulorum infection in buffalo calves and its management a scientific effort with fruitful results

Toxocara vitulorum is an economically important and pathogenic gastrointestinal ascarid of cattle, buffaloes and other bovids, that has wide geographic distribution, especially in tropical and subtropical regions. It is also known as Neoascaris vitulorum, which belongs to the phylum Nematoda, class Secernentea, order Ascaridida, and the family of Ascarididae. (Soulsby, 1968). This nematode inhabits the small intestine, especially the duodenum and first section of the jejunum of animals (Roberts, 1990). T. vitulorum is one of the most important parasites that causes huge morbidity and mortality in newborn buffalo calves and also has zoonotic importance. Humans acquire infection by ingestion of embryonated eggs either from dirty hands, contaminated soil, raw fruits and vegetables or larvae from undercooked meat and unpasteurized milk (Borecka et al., 2010). The diagnosis and control of T. vitulorum are not easy as the larvae migrate in the tissues and remain as hypobiotic parasites. For this reason, preventive and control strategies are important to reduce infections and economic losses due to T. vitulorum