Veterinary Parasitology. By , , . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK, 4th edition, 2015, ( 1032 Pages), ISBN: 978-0-470-67162-7, Price £149.99 (hardback).
Veterinary Parasitology is widely considered to be the comprehensive veterinary parasitology reference for students and practitioners, and is an excellent addition to the body of reference materials dedicated to this field. The first edition was published in 1987 and was edited by G.M. Urquhart, J. Armour, J.L. Duncan, A.M. Dunn and F.W. Jennings, with the second edition, by the same authors, published in 1996, and the third edition in 2007 by M. Taylor, B. Coop and R. Wall. Veterinary Parasitology is now in its fourth edition and continues to be one of the essential veterinary parasitology texts. This new edition comes eight years after the third edition and has been updated to reflect recent advances in the field and the latest molecular parasite taxonomic classification schemes. The authors of this edition have put together an up-to-date account of the many facets of veterinary parasitology in a single volume.
This book is organized in two main parts. Part 1, general parasitology including taxonomy, diagnosis and antiparasitics, is divided into seven chapters focusing on veterinary helminthology, veterinary protozoology, veterinary entomology, laboratory diagnosis of parasites, antiparasitics, epidemiology of parasitic diseases and host resistance to parasitic diseases. Part 2, host–parasite diseases, comprises nine chapters dealing with various categories of parasitic agents of animals arranged by host species and presented in an organ-system approach within the host. A final chapter covers facultative ectoparasites and arthropod vectors. Obligatory ectoparasites are described in the chapters relating to their specific or main animal hosts.
In the preface, the authors state that the motivation for this book is three-fold: (i) to preserve the spirit of the first two editions of the textbook Veterinary Parasitology, which had been compiled by eminent and respected veterinary parasitologists; (ii) to expand and revise the systematic sections on helminthology, protozoology and entomology, and the description of parasites of veterinary significance; and (iii) to present the information in a format that suits the diversity of modern parasitology teaching approaches used by many veterinary schools. The book succeeds in attaining these three objectives. However, the fourth edition of Veterinary Parasitology, like any other book, has strengths and weaknesses. This edition parallels the prior edition in layout and much of its content is borrowed from the third edition. However, some chapters, such as antiparasitics and laboratory diagnosis of parasites, have been updated. Also, there are new tables, identification charts, illustrations and colour images, and electron photomicrographs to support the text.
The first three chapters provide useful information on the taxonomy of the main parasitic kingdoms, phyla, classes, orders and genera, along with succinct description and anatomical features of the parasite orders, families and species. These chapters should be useful for anyone interested in systematic parasitology. Chapter 4 provides an account on faecal examination using classical parasitology methods and nucleic acid amplification techniques. However, the section on serological diagnosis is limited to less than half page. This is surprising because serological tests (antigen-based or antibody-based) have more utility in the diagnosis of parasitic diseases than DNA-based techniques and are a valuable tool in epidemiological investigations. The diagnostics chapter also does not encompass any of the imaging modalities used in practice to diagnose parasitic diseases, such as ultrasonography, MRI and radiography. Most of the information in the antiparasitic chapter has been discussed in other textbooks and review articles. Parasitic diseases are of complex epidemiology and thus are challenging to understand and to control. This has been recognized by the authors, too, as they dedicate Chapter 6 to the epidemiology of parasitic diseases. However, this chapter does not discuss many important topics, for example the approaches for parasitic disease surveillance and how laboratory data could help reveal the scale of certain parasitic diseases. Chapter 7 addresses factors that influence the host ability to counter parasitic infection, with emphasis on the role of host immune responses. Such a very important subject cannot be covered in eight pages; however, a comprehensive discussion of parasite immunity has been addressed in more specialized texts and is outside the scope of this book.
Even though most of the information discussed in part 2 (chapters 8 to 16) can be found in other textbooks, the arrangement of the text by host species and in a logical organ-system based approach, within the host, makes this book different from other parasitology textbooks and a useful tool for clinicians, not only parasitologists. The text provides readers with an overview of a large number of parasitic species belonging to endoparasites (helminths and protozoa) and ectoparasites (lice, fleas, flies, mites and ticks) and in a range of vertebrate species. The focus is on parasites of domestic livestock species and companion animals with inclusion of parasites of poultry and gamebirds, ungulates, laboratory animals and exotic species. A standardized format has been used to present each parasite and this makes it easy for readers to locate specific information. However, in-depth discussions of pathophysiology, pathological alterations, epidemiology, clinical impact and control of some parasites are lacking and occasionally further information will need to be sought elsewhere. The host–parasite checklist at the end of each chapter is very useful. Reference has been made to the zoonotic potential of some parasites where appropriate, but given the growing importance of the “one health” paradigm, the book would benefit from a stronger focus on emerging zoonotic parasitic infections, such as leishmaniosis and other vector-borne infections at northern latitudes, and its impact on animal and human health from a one health perspective.
Although comprehensive, this book lacks appendix, abbreviation list and glossary. A single bibliography of 107 references is provided at the end of the book. However, in-text citations, along with key pertinent references and further reading for each chapter, would provide additional and specific information for readers interested in expanding their knowledge on a particular topic. Additional features, such as summaries and case studies to illustrate the core information and to reinforce knowledge would also benefit this book. The book is of good print quality; however, some photos are out of focus (e.g. figures 4.39, 8.11, 8.13 and 8.15), and magnification, stain method, size bar and legend features are not illustrated adequately for most of the images. Despite these few deficiencies, the book is well written and illustrated, and is reasonably priced. The breadth of the presented material makes this book particularly useful for residents in veterinary parasitology, veterinary dermatology and internal medicine training programmes. In the classroom, this text would be used as a resource for the introduction of parasitology to veterinary students. However, it should not be considered a complete resource for veterinary parasitology; it complements, rather than replaces, the earlier edition and other veterinary parasitology textbooks. Written by credible authors, this text is an excellent addition to the libraries of veterinary schools and should be suitable for veterinary parasitologists, veterinarians, laboratory diagnosticians and academics.
