Parasitic, Bacterial Diseases and Other Abnormalities in Abattoirs of Tigray Region, Northern Ethiopia

Abstract

Parasitic, bacterial diseases and other abnormalities are serious impediments to livestock production. A cross sectional active abattoir survey was conducted to identify the parasitic, bacterial diseases and other abnormalities in cattle slaughtered in abattoirs of Tigray region, northern Ethiopia from May, 2014 to January, 2015. A total of 479 cattle were examined through ante mortem and postmortem examinations. Eye discharge (5.43%), localized swelling (3.97%), rough hair (3.34%) and salivation (2.71%) were the major abnormalities encountered during ante mortem inspection. Postmortem examinations revealed that out of the total examined cattle, 228 (47.6%) were found to be infected with different parasitic, bacterial diseases and other abnormalities. Cysticercosis (15.66%) was the most frequently encountered parasitic disease followed by hydatidosis (11.1%) and fasciolosis (6.3%), respectively. Bovine tuberculosis (0.4%) was identified among the bacterial diseases. Emphysema (4.4%), calcification (2.9%), hydronephrosis (2.5%), pneumonia (2.5%), abscess (1.3%) and cirrhosis (0.6%), respectively were the major abnormalities. The prevalence of cysticercosis, hydatidosis and hydronephrosis showed a significance difference between the body condition score of the cattle (p < 0.05) and higher infection was recorded in cattle with poor body condition. Similarly, there was significant difference in prevalence of cystesercosis between sex of cattle (χ2 = 57.5, p = 0.014) and male animals were more infected. The current study revealed that parasitic, bacterial diseases and other abnormalities were the main animal health problems in Tigray region. Therefore, the zoonotic importance of the diseases and abnormalities needs intervention.

Keywords: Abattoir, Abnormality, Cattle, Disease, Prevalence, Tigray