Prevalencia de la Fasciola Hepatica en los municipios Mara y Páez del estado Zulia, Venezuela

During two periods, January to March (dry season) and September to November (rainy season) 1996, it was carried out a single aleatory sampling, designed through the package Epi Info, option STATCALC, lo a cross-bred bovine population, of 3,860 animals, collecting 877 samples of feces, of which 397 were positive to Fasciola. hepatica, for a general prevalence of 45.26%. This population was distributed in 30 production units, located in four sectors: "Playa Bonita", "El Colorado", "El Cero" and "El Molinete", all at the banks of the Guasare, Socuy and Limon rivers of the Mara and Paez municipalities, Zulia state, Venezuela, because of these the areas with a microclima predisposes to the occurrence of the biological cycle of the causal agent of the fasciolosis. By the coprologic evaluation all the farms under study were positive to Fasciola hapatica eggs after coprologic evaluation. In addition, Limnaea cubensis, the intermediate host, was found in all the farms. The prevalence during the dry season was 53.15 and 45.0%, whereas in the rainy season it was 40.93 and 43.14%, at the Mara and Paez municipalities. The higest prevalence corresponded to the sectors "El Colorado" and "El Molinete", with rates of 61.17 and 49.56%, respectively.