The study of major parasitic causes of organ condemnation and financial losses in cattle slaughtered at Hawassa Municipal Abattoir, Ethiopia

Abstract

The prevalence of major parasitic infections is responsible for the condemnation of major organs during meat inspection, this leads to the associated economic losses. This study was conducted from November 2010 to April 2011 on cattle slaughtered at Hawassa Municipal Abattoir. Liver, lung, heart and kidneys were the organs examined for the parasites and find that Fasciola spp.’s (37.19%), hydatid cyst (73.65%) and Cysticercus bovis (5.91%) were the main factors for condemnation of those inspected organs. Out of 406 cattle examined postmortem, 313 (77.09%) animals had at least one organ condemned due to the presence of helminth parasites. Among those 228 (56.16%), 234 (57.63%), 42 (10.34%) and 30 (7.39%) animals’ liver, lung, heart and kidney were rejected respectively. Helminth parasites presence were compared among the different body conditions of animals and a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) was observed between presence of Fasciola and various body condition scores. Fasciola spp.’s were commonly found in animals with poor body condition (78.95%) as compared to medium (35.16%) and good (35.12%) body condition animals. In contrast, the presence of hydatid cyst and C. bovis were found to be insignificantly associated with the body condition score of the animal (p > 0.05). The financial loss between 2010 and2011 due to the condemnation of these organs was calculated to be 651,342.5 Eth birr (£20,592.03 GBP) per annum. Therefore, creation of awareness on animal attendants and/or cattle owners and abattoir workers about the effect of parasites and safe disposal of condemned organs must be made.

Keywords:

• abattoir
• cattle
• condemnation
• organs

Public Interest Statement

The prevalence of major parasitic infections is responsible for the condemnation of major organs during meat inspection for the public health and this leads to the associated economic losses. Helminth parasites encountered during postmortem inspection that were responsible for marketable organ condemnation were hydatid cyst, Fasciola spp.’s and Cysticercus bovis. The financial loss due condemnation of these organs were calculated to be 651,342.5 Eth birr per annum according to this study. Therefore, creation of awareness on animal attendants and/or cattle owners and abattoir workers about the effect of parasites and safe disposal of condemned organs must be made.

Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interest.

Acknowledgement

The authors are indebted to Dr Shihun Shimelis for his assistance during this study.

Additional information

Funding

Funding. The authors received no direct funding for this research.

Notes on contributors

Bedaso Kebede

Dr Bedaso’s graduated from Addis Ababa University since July, 2010 and Dr Dinsefa Jemal graduated from Haramaya University since June, 2011. Their research interests are focused on the animal diseases and public health. The research article is the study of Major Parasitic Causes of Organ Condemnation and Financial Losses in Cattle Slaughtered at Hawassa Municipal Abattoir, Ethiopia. We interested to conduct this research because of public health and economic impact of the parasitic diseases cause on human health and country economy.