Equine fasciolosis due to Fasciola hepatica in the Community of Madrid (Spain): First report of a rare parasitic infection in horses

Rodríguez Sanz, Carolina ElisaCarbonell, Juan DavidMiró Corrales, GuadalupeMeana Mañes, María Aranzazu2025-08-042025-08-042025Sanz CR, Carbonell JD, Miró G, Meana A. Equine fasciolosis due to Fasciola hepatica in the Community of Madrid (Spain): First report of a rare parasitic infection in horses. Vet Rec Case Rep. 2025;e70151. https://doi.org/10.1002/vrc2.7015110.1002/vrc2.70151https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/123002Justificación de autores: Carolina R. Sanz and Arancha Meana conceived and designed the project. Carolina R. Sanz performed the clinical exams and acquired the biological samples. Carolina R. Sanz and Juan David Carbonell collected the snails and performed the morphological identification. Carolina R. Sanz analysed the clinical samples and interpreted the data. Guadalupe Miró and Arancha Meana supervised the laboratory analyses. Carolina R. Sanz wrote the original draft. All authors reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript. Beca de Predoctoral Carolina Rodríguez: CT42/18-CT43/18We reported for the first time a confirmed case of equine fasciolosis in the Community of Madrid (Spain). Here, we described the clinical presentation, diagnostic approach and treatment of the affected horse, as well as the seroprevalence of Fasciola hepatica in the equestrian centre where it was detected. A 12-year-old mare presented in autumn with a 3-month history of decreased performance, lethargy and progressive weight loss, despite a normal appetite. Haematology and biochemical profile revealed normocytic and normochromic anaemia, leukopenia, and the sorbitol dehydrogenase value was at the upper reference limit. F. hepatica eggs were found in coprology, along with a high load of gastrointestinal nematodes. Flukicide treatment based on the administration of two doses of closantel (10 mg/kg, orally), given 10 weeks apart, was effective against F. hepatica infection in this horse, with a noticeable clinical improvement observed 1 month post-treatment. No recurrence was observed in the 12-month follow-upengAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Equine fasciolosis due to Fasciola hepatica in the Community of Madrid (Spain): First report of a rare parasitic infection in horsesjournal article2052-6121https://doi.org/10.1002/vrc2.70151open access636.1.09:616.99ClosantelFasciolosisHepatic diseaseLiver flukeStrongylesSanidad animal2401.12 Parasitología Animal