Ectopic migration of Fasciola sp. in the lung of a water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

Abstract

There are few reports of ectopic fasciolosis in the lungs of ruminants. Here, we report a rare case of ectopic pulmonary migration of Fasciola sp. in a water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). In October 2021, during the routine veterinary inspection of the carcass and edible offal of a 3-year-old female buffalo in Tabriz industrial slaughterhouse, Iran, a severe liver infection with Fasciola parasites was observed. They were diagnosed as Fasciola hepatica based on size and gross morphology. One 3-cm fluke was recovered from the caudal lobe of the buffalo’s right lung. Histopathologically, chronic active pneumonia, along with mild interstitial fibrosis, alveolar septa and pleura thickening, and necrosis associated with severe mixed inflammatory cell infiltration was observed in the affected lung. This case was observed for the first time in over 15 years of buffalo carcass inspection in the study area, indicating that pulmonary fasciolosis is rare in Bubalus bubalis.

Keywords

• buffalo
• ectopic
• fasciola
• lung