And Then There Were Three: Lymnaeid Vectors of Fascioliasis in Highly Endemic Province of Argentina

Abstract

Mendoza province lies to the west of Argentina, its backbone being the Andes Mountains. In its valleys can be found very high endemicities of fascioliasis in cattle , sheep, goats , horses, mules, donkeys and even introduced llamas. Up to the present, such high prevalences were always linked to the presence of only one lymnaeid vector species described in the region, Lymnaea viatrix , similarly as for most of Argentina. However, traditional malacologicalmethods have proven to be insufficient to reach species level classification in the Galba-Fossaria group4 .