Cyst Viability, Organ Distribution and Financial Losses due to Hydatidosis in Cattle Slaughtered At Dessie Municipal Abattoir, North-eastern Ethiopia

A cross sectional study was conducted from October 2010 to March 2011 to assess the prevalence, cyst viability, organ distribution and financial losses of bovine hydatidosis in cattle slaughtered at Dessie municipal abattoir. Postmortem inspection, cyst characterization and financial loss estimations were conducted. Out of 610 inspected cattle, 83 (13.61%) were harbouring a single or multiple hydatid cysts. Significantly (P<0.05) higher infection rate was observed in poor (22.89%) than medium (12.99%) and good (10.40%) body condition scorings but significant variation (P>0.05) was not observed in different age groups. Anatomically, the cysts were distributed 68.67% in the lung, 14.46% in the liver, 6.02% in the kidneys, 1.2% in the heart and 9.64% were found both in the lung and liver. Of the total examined cysts (195) for fertility and viability, 27 (13.85%) were fertile, 44 (22.56%) were calcified, 124 (63.59%) were sterile. The rate of cyst calcification was higher in the liver (78.14%) than other organs whilst the fertility percentage was higher in the lung (14.65%). Of the total 27 fertile cysts subjected to viability test, 13 (6.67%) were viable. Size assessment made on 195 cysts indicated that 153 (78.46%) were small, 41 (21.03%) were medium and one (0.51%) were large sized cysts. In the present study, the total annual economic loss from organ condemnation and carcass weight loss due to hydatidosis was estimated as 681,333.87 Ethiopian birr which is about 39157.12 United States dollar per annum based on the local market prices in the study period. The result of this study revealed that hydatidosis is an economically important disease of cattle which necessitates designing of appropriate strategies for its control.