Dicrocoelium dendriticum: The Life Cycle in Britain

Abstract

The work has demonstrated that one of the more important areas of Scotland where Dicrocoelium dendriticum is endemic carried infected colonies of Helicella itala which live in association with the ant Formica fusca. Workers of the ant were shown to acquire typical metacercarial cysts after the ingestion of slime balls, and the cysts gave rise to mature lancet flukes in sheep and hamsters, eggs appearing in the faeces after 56 and 48 days respectively. Higher egg counts were obtained from hamsters to which more cysts were administered. This is the first occasion on which an ant intermediate host has been demonstrated for Dicrocoelium in Britain.