Application of ultrasonography in prevalence studies of hydatid cysts in goats in north-western Turkana, Kenya and Toposaland, southern Sudan.

A study was done to determine the prevalence of hydatid cysts in goats using ultrasonography. A total of 1,390 goats were examined, 43,6 % (606/1,390) of them from north-western Turkana, Kenya, and 56,4% (784/1,390) from Toposaland, southern Sudan. Hydatid cysts were visualized in 1,82 % (11/ 606) of the goats from north-western Turkana and 4,34% (34/784) of those from Toposaland. Unlike abattoir surveys, the prevalence data obtained in this study were unbiased because entire flocks were examined. The lower prevalence rate of the disease in goats from Turkana was attributed to the hydatid disease control programme in that area, which is absent in Toposaland.