Fascioliasis and fasciolopsiasis: Current knowledge and future trends

9 páginas, 2 figuras y 2 tablas.

Food-borne zoonotic trematodiases are classified as neglected diseases by the World Health Organization. Among them, fascioliasis is caused worldwide by Fasciola hepatica and F. gigantica, and represent a huge problem in livestock production and human health in endemic areas. Fasciolopsis buski, restricted to specific regions of Asia, causes fasciolopsiasis. The incidence of these trematodiases is underestimated due to under-reporting and to the lack of sensitive and widely accepted tool for their diagnosis. This, together with a rising trend in reporting of drug resistance and the need for an effective vaccine against these parasites, pose a challenge in the effective control of these diseases. Here, the latest reports on fascioliasis outbreaks between 2000 and 2020 and the most recent advances in their epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment and control are revised. Finally, future needs in the field of fascioliasis and fasciolopsiasis are presented, which could be addressed based on current knowledge and by means of new emerging technologies.

JGM is supported by the “Juan de la Cierva-Incorporación” program (IJC2018-036660-I) of the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MCIU) and by the JIN project “ULYSSES” (RTI2018-093463-J-100) funded by Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MCIU), Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER, UE). Authors acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Projects PID2019-108782RB-C22 and AGL2015-67023-C2-2-R): DBR acknowledges financial support from the Consejería de Educación, Junta de Castilla y Léon (Predoctoral fellowship).

Peer reviewed