Symptoms
Sheep
Infected sheep experience sunburn at face, ears, teats and vulva. It is the primary symptom of the poisoning caused by sporidesmin. The sunburn is caused by the fact that the lower tissue is swollen. The skin gets crusty, dark and then peels,. making it susceptible to infection. Other symptoms include dullness, weakness, inappetence, and ill-thrift. An affection of the liver results in jaundice. In a worst-case, the sheep die. Cattle
Infected cattle suffer from sunburn. Dark pigmented skin is often affected. Cattle produce less milk. Jaundice is possible and death after some months. Treatment
Convalescence can take a long time, but some animals may not get healthy. External therapy is possible to treat the sunburn. Animals could be protected by the intake of zinc. Zinc reacts with sporidesmin to create a metallic complex, so that the poison can be eliminated from the body. Prevention and control
If animals are sunburned, they should be placed in the stable to protect them from sunlight. Infected cattle should no longer be used in milk production.Reduce flock density (0.45 hectare/ 15 cows or 100 sheep)GGT (enzyme) is released by the damaged liver over the course of this disease and can be tested to indicate disease severity. == References ==
However it was not until 1889 that the first human case was described by Levinson when he found the Gnathostoma larva in an infested Thai woman. The lifecycle of G. spinigerum was described by Svasti Daengsvang and Chalerm Prommas from Thailand in 1933 and 1936. This delay in identification of the parasite in humans is due to the fact that humans are not a definitive host for this parasite making infection from this parasite rare. Gnathostomiasis infection is rare because the parasite must be digested when it has reached its third larvae stage, providing only a short time frame in which the parasite is capable of infecting humans. It is uncommon for the larvae to penetrate the skin of individuals exposed to contaminated food or water without ingestion. See also
List of parasites (human)
List of migrating cutaneous conditions

References
External links
Gnathostomiasis Archived 2013-02-15 at the Wayback Machine at CDC
Gnathostomiasis at eMedicine