Common Parasites 35 



Medicinal Treatment. For lambs or sheep weighing 75 pounds 

 give, on an empty stomach, one tablespoonful of gasoline well 

 mixed with one-half pint of raw linseed oil. Full grown sheep 

 larger and heavier than this will require two to three times the 

 dose. This treatment is to be repeated on three or four successive 

 days after the sheep have been kept confined over night without 

 food or water. 



Liver Flukes (Fasciola hepatica). 



See discussion of this parasite under discussion of parasites of 

 cattle. 



Tape Worms. 



Several varieties of tape worms infest the intestines of sheep in 

 the adult form. They do little appreciable harm and from a prac- 

 tical point of view are unimportant. Their complete life history 

 is unknown. 



Gid Bladder Worm. Gid, Turnsick (Coenurus cerebralis). 



This worm is the larval form of the Taenia coenurus, a tape 

 worm which in its adult form infests the intestines of the dog. The 

 mature worm, about two feet long, produces eggs which pass out 

 with the feces of the infested dog. The eggs contaminate food and 

 water and are taken into the stomach of the sheep in this manner. 

 The eggs hatch in the stomach and the larvae migrate through the 

 blood vessels and by this means reach the brain of the sheep. In 

 the brain a cyst, or bladder-like structure, is formed which contains 

 the larva. Dogs become infested with the adult form of the worm 

 by eating the brains or spinal cords of sheep infested with the lar- 

 val form of the worm. In some sections this form of parasitic in- 

 festation causes severe losses to the sheep industry. 



Symptoms. Dullness, a staggery gait in walking, nervous excite- 

 ment, evidences of sudden fright, irregular appetite, indigestion 

 due to imperfect rumination, giddiness, turning in a circles, all are 

 to be observed. As the cyst enlarges pressure on brain tissue is in- 

 creased and the symptoms aggravated. In the later stages loss of 

 flesh is rapid and blindness may occur. In case the spinal cord is in- 

 fested the presence of the cyst causes paralysis of part or all of the 

 body depending upon the location of the cyst. 



Treatment. Keep dogs away from the premises occupied by the 

 sheep. If this is impossible, all dogs should be treated with medi- 

 cines recommended for the destruction of tapeworms in dogs. De- 

 stroy by burning all carcasses of sheep that die on the farm. Do 

 not allow dogs to eat sheep heads at slaughtering establishments 

 or elsewhere. 



In case of infestation of valuable sheep the cysts may be re- 

 moved from the brain by surgical operation. This can only be done 

 by a veterinarian. 



