Prevalence of Tenuicollosis Among Livestock Slaughtered at Ninevah Governorate-Iraq

Abstract

The prevalence of Cysticercus tenuicollis metacestode infections of sheep, goats and cattle was carried out during 2009 and 2010 at Mosul abattoir and nearby meat selling shops. All inspected carcasses were of local breed, apparently healthy. They were divided according to their ages and sexes into two categories. The first group included males less than one year old while the second group involved females more than one year old. A routine parasitological method by visual inspection of the cysts was followed for researching of the cysts within the internal cavities of the carcasses. Of 2000 sheep, 400 goats and 300 cattle examined preslaughter, 40 carcasses of each sheep and goats and 18 carcasses of cattle harbored the cysts, representing infection rates of 2, 10 and 6%, respectively. There were no significant differences in the infection rates between males less than one year and older female sheep. However, there were significant difference between male goats less than one year old and older female goats (P<0.05) in favor of females. In cattle, the cysts were only found in male calves with 6.5% infection rate. In males, the omentum followed by the mesentery and then the liver are the commonest sites, while in the females; the mesentery presented the most frequent locations of the cysts. Number of the cysts ranged between 1-4, 3-6 and one cyst in sheep, goats and cattle, respectively. Cyst's size was 2-7 cm in sheep, 4-6 cm in goats and 5 cm in cattle. It has been observed that most of the cysts are of evaginated type in sheep carcasses and ivaginated shape in goats and cattle and < 70% were viable; however, > 1% was caseated in the liver of lambs. It can be concluded that the goats play greater role in dissemination of the disease followed by cattle and sheep.