Seminar on Fasciolosis at Veterinary College

CHENNAI: A two-day seminar on ‘Control of Fasciolosis’ began at the Madras Veterinary College on Monday organised by the Department of Veterinary Parasitology and Centre for Animal Health Studies. The seminar aims at  generating new ideas in the field  through lectures by UK and Indian scientists. A group discussion and field visits to Erode to interact with farmers and field veterinarians has been planned.The Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University is collaborating with the Queens University in  Belfast, Aberystwyth University in Wales, UK, and India’s Aligarh Muslim University. The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council-funded project titled ‘developing a validation portfolio to exploit key virulence protein in fasciola species for parasite control’  will identify key proteins of Fasciola that can be used to develop a vaccine . A sum of Rs 85 lakh has been sanctioned for the work to TANUVAS by BBSRC, UK, for a period of three years.Fasciolosis is a parasitic disease of cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats caused by flatworms fasciola gigantica and fasciola hepatica. These worms,  also commonly called as liver flukes, dwell in the bile duct and liver and affect the  productivity of these cattle in a number of ways.