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Part of the book series: Parasitology Research Monographs ((Parasitology Res. Monogr.,volume 7))

Abstract

The so-called small liver flukes of ruminants (Dicrocoelium dendriticum, D. hospes, D. sinensis) involve two intermediate hosts (snails, ants). The latter (when infected) shows a peculiar behaviour, since “one of the ingested cercariae enters the brain” (ganglion) of the ant and introduces behavioural change of the ant, which as a consequence does not return to the nest in the evening, but stays overnight on plants and thus is easily ingested next morning by the grazing final host.

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Correspondence to Heinz Mehlhorn .

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Mehlhorn, H. (2015). The Brain Worm Story. In: Mehlhorn, H. (eds) Host Manipulations by Parasites and Viruses. Parasitology Research Monographs, vol 7. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22936-2_7

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