The peer-reviewed publications presented in this thesis are organized in seven 'themes’, each presenting a collation of related studies dealing with a particular aspect of structure, physiology, immunology, biology or toxicological pathology of the liver fluke Fasciola spp., or other helminth parasites of clinical / economic significance for domestic livestock and fish. Theme 1 addresses the development of in vitro methods for the study of Fasciola, including cytological and immunological investigations on adult worms and on juvenile migrating stages. In Theme 2, the structure and immunogenicity of the tegument of Fasciola is examined in detail, and the application of novel approaches such as immunogold labelling and monoclonal antibody technology is introduced. Theme 3 presents international collaborative studies on the biology, structure and ecology of paramphistomes (rumen flukes) of buffaloes, cattle, sheep and goats in India. The principles of population analysis for larval trematodes are further developed in Theme 4. The studies compiled in Theme 5 describe the structure and biology of certain trematode flukes that are parasitic on marine and freshwater food fishes in India. In Theme 6, a series of studies describing the morphological and ultractructural changes that occur in liver flukes subjected to treatment with anthelmintic drugs in vitro and in vivo present new evidence on the biochemical mode of action of such chemotherapeutic agents, and on the ability of fluke populations to develop drug resistance to them. Certain of these studies have revealed hitherto unreported aspects of fluke reproduction such as facultative parthenogenesis. In the studies collated in Theme 7, anthelmintic resistance and strategic control of helminth infections in ruminants in Northern Ireland are examined using archived diagnostic records and analysis of questionnaires distributed to farmers throughout the province. Theme 8 compiles published review articles in Parasitology, while Theme 9 presents a few studies unrelated to Parasitology.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:706686 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Hanna, Robert Edmund Barrie |
| Publisher | Queen's University Belfast |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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