On 13 Apr 94 12:13:24 BST,
<rupp at vax.ox.ac.uk> writes:
>SAVE THE PARASITES!
>>Parasites have a very bad public image. Thousands of organisations combat them
>and would be quite happy to drive them to extinction. That's unfair! Why should
>high-ranking values such as Biodiversity, The Right to Existence, Gene Pool and
>Pharmacological Potential be reserved for plants, herbivores and carnivores?
>These are merely other ways to steal energy and building blocks from other life
>forms.
>>Is there any study on endangered parasites? ;-)
>Despite the efforts of thousands of parasitologists, remarkably few
parasites appear to have been driven to extinction. Job Security Rules OK!
In the northern part of NSW, Australia, 2 formerly pathogenic nematode
parasites of sheep, Oesophagostomum columbianum and Dictyocaulus filaria
appear to have been eradicated by control programs largely directed against
other species, as well as partial eradication, on a farm-by-farm basis, of
the dreaded Haemonchus contortus, using closantel. See Barger, Hall & Dash
(1991) Australian Veterinary Journal 68:347-348.
Ian Barger
CSIRO Division of Animal Health
Pastoral Research Laboratory
Private Mail Bag Phone: +61 67 76 1430
Armidale NSW 2350, Australia Fax: +61 67 76 1333
