Altruistic actions are generally seen as 'noble'. Yet some 'lowly' organisms are apt to match the most heroic human acts of devotion and self-sacrifice. To use a widely-quoted example, consider Dicrocoelium dendriticum, also known as brainworm. These parasites spend some of their stages in the innards of cows, exit in the feces and, in the form of cercaria, are eaten by ants a few stages later....

In Switzerland, dicrocoeliasis is regarded as the most significant parasitic infection of llamas and alpacas. Fasciola hepatica infestation is also a problem but less common. The aim of the present retrospective study was to evaluate the lungs of New World camelids (NWCs) for evidence of arterial hypertension in association with liver changes due to liver fluke infestation. The lungs of 20 llam...

background: dicrocoelium dendriticum, a liver trematode of herbivores, and man is very prevalent among ruminants of iran, resulting in causing significant economic losses. recently its phenotype polymorphism has been found in iran, a phenomenon that may affect the protein profile of the parasite. objectives: the aim of this study was to determine the somatic protein profiles of d.dendriticum in...