Eurytrema pancreaticum: Pancreatic fluke.

General Description: Typical flukes are 8 to 16mm long and 5 to 8.5mm wide. Bodies are thick, with large suckers.

Life Cycle: Indirect fluke life cycle, with two intermediate hosts. Two generations of sporocysts occur in the snails. The second produces cercariae which are deposited on the pasture and are eaten by grasshoppers. Metacercariae develop in the grasshoppers. Ingestion of infected grasshoppers on pasture produces infection in cattle.

Location: Ducts of pancreas; occasionally found in small intestine and bile ducts of liver.

Geographical Distribution: Eastern Asia, Brazil.

Significance: Eurytrema is not a serious threat unless a herd is very heavily infected.

Effect on Host: Pancreatic ducts may become inflamed. Scar tissue may form in some areas of the pancreas. Poor condition (general malaise, emaciation) may occur in heavily infected animals.

Diagnostic Information: Eggs appear in faeces.

Control: No satisfactory control is available.
 

Cross section, Eurytrema in pancreas