Metazoan diseases of livestock in the Greater Himalayan region of India and their diagnosis- An overview

The gigantic Greater Himalayan region presents titanic epizootiological diversities, snow bound mountainous, difficult and easily not accessible topography with extreme climatic variations, perennial rivers and a few valleys. The region is also characterized by unique animal management practices, long distance migration of nomadic flocks, hill slop grazing, alpine pastures and abundance of green biomass. The epizootiological determinants influence prevalence of metazoan diseases, livestock productivity, growth and development. Interestingly, native livestock (especially yak, mithun, Karakul sheep and Cashmere goats) inhabitating in the cold desert are fairly well built with high productivity and enjoy better health status than livestock in plains. A modest beginning on recording occurrence of metazoan parasites of medical-veterinary significance in the Greater Himalayas region was initiated as early as 1926–28. This review is an insight into varied epizootiological factors, pathophysiological signs, deleterious effects and severity of the metazoan diseases prevalent in food animals and briefly discussed.