Review of " Parasites of medical and veterinary importance " by Dietmar Steverding

The book starts with a brief introduction - free text - to the broad groups of parasites, impact on humans and sources of nomenclature. By page 5 the book is straight onto the parasite groups where it is divided into three main sections, "Protozoa", "Metazoa" and "Micropredators as vectors for pathogens" followed by a series of indexes and annexes. Each section has a short introduction and then further broken down. For example, the protozoa are divided into 5 sections: Sarcomastigophora, Apicomplexa, Ciliophora, Microspora and "protozoa of uncertain classification". Purists of taxonomy might quibble with the groupings used but all section names will be familiar to the majority of users of this book. It is these sections that form the backbone of the book.Each section comprises tables that describe a group of related parasites. For example, Table 4 includes the important genera Trypanosoma and Leishmania in the Kinetoplastida but also less familiar ones (e.g. Cryptobia). Similarly, in the metazoan section, Table 13 lists important species of Digenea such as Schistosoma and Fasciola but also less familiar parasites such as Parastrigea. Detailed inspection of the tables reveals two major challenges that the author must have endured. Which species to include? Which species are currently recognised as such in the ever changing world of taxonomy? The key parasites that have human and animal health importance are all there (as far as I can tell) and for that reason alone the book is highly valuable. The challenge, of course, is at the interface of what is and what is not important. There will be some readers whose "pet" parasite is missing. For example, I spotted two missing entries that might or might not be considered important: Trypanosoma godfreyi - a putative causative agent of trypanosomiasis in pigs - and Plagiorchis spp. - a genus of trematodes that infects a wide range of animal species (and occasionally humans). Should these and other such parasites be included?