Current status of bovine cysticercosis of slaughtered cattle in Addis Ababa Abattoir,Ethiopia

The prevalence of Taenia saginata cysticercosis in cattle slaughtered for meat in Addis Ababa Abattoir, Ethiopia between September 2004 and August 2005 was reported. The examination of various organs of 11227 cattle in Addis Ababa Abattoir showed that 842 (7.5%) were infected with T. saginata cysticercosis. The tongue, masseter muscles, cardiac muscles, triceps muscles and thigh muscles were the main predilection sites of the cysts. The cysts of bovine cysticercosis were also identified on the spleen, intercostal muscles, diaphragm and liver. Out of 10329 male cattle, examined, 783 (7.6%) had cysts of bovine cysticercosis while 59 (6.6%) of the 898 female animals investigated were infected. The animals slaughtered were all adults. No significant difference in prevalence rates was recorded between the sexes. The prevalence of bovine cysticercosis was higher in local zebu cattle breeds than Holstein-Frisian cattle.     

Prevalence of bovine tuberculosis in slaughtered cattle identified by nested-PCR in abattoirs from two dairy areas of Ecuador

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a chronic granulomatous disease that primarily affects lung tissue and lymph nodes (LN) in cattle, with economic impact on their productivity. Furthermore, it is potential zoonoses that may cause public health hazard. In this study, we evaluated the presence of bTB in two abattoirs: Cayambe and Pelileo countries located in the Ecuadorian provinces of Pichincha and Tungurahua, respectively. In total, 578 cattle were sampled (Cayambe 271 and Pelileo 307): 1,156 LN and 578 lung tissue samples were collected to apply in vitro culture and nested-PCR, respectively. The results determined a total apparent prevalence of 4.33 %, with 4.06 % at Cayambe’s abattoir and 4.56 % at Pelileo’s abattoir. Additionally, the Bayesian analysis showed a total true prevalence of 2.51 %, with 89.7 % of sensitivity and 97.6 % of specificity. The risk factors were evaluated by the use of simple logistic regressions with and without the random effect of places of origin. Associations of the origin of cattle in the selected slaughterhouses were found. The results showed an efficient method for the detection of bTB, which could identify a large number of infected animals, and the usefulness of lung tissue samples for early diagnosis of the disease was demonstrated in this study.     

Prevalence of Toxoplasma infection in cattle slaughtered at an Ohio abattoir.

Specimens of heart, diaphragm and, in 159 instances, esophagus were taken from 352 cattle slaughtered in an Ohio abattoir. The total weight of the material was 32 kg, and this was fed to 12 specific-pathogen-free cats to test for Toxoplasma infectivity. None of the 12 cats acquired Toxoplasma infection, as evidenced by their failure to excrete oocysts or to develop antibodies, and by failure to isolate Toxoplasma from their tissues by inoculation into mice. In further tests, a 650-g sample of beef from 77 of the 352 cattle was digested in 1% trypsin, then inoculated intraperitoneally into 40 mice. Toxoplasma was not isolated from the mice. Serums from 186 of the 352 cattle were inactivated at 60 C for 1 hour, then examined by the Sabin-Feldman (dye) test for antibodies to Toxoplasma. None had titers of more than 1:8. Of the 186 serums, 77 were also examined for antibodies in the indirect hemagglutination test. One had a titer of 1:64, which was considered nonspecific. Thus, evidence for Toxoplasma infection was not found in 352 cattle.     

Prevalence study on bovine tuberculosis and molecular characterization of its causative agents in cattle slaughtered at Addis Ababa municipal abattoir, Central Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 500 cattle slaughtered at Addis Ababa abattoir to determine the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis (BTB) and characterize its causative agents. Postmortem examination, mycobacteriological culturing, region of difference-4 (RD4)-based PCR and spoligotyping were applied. The prevalence of BTB was 5 % on the basis of postmortem inspection alone but 1.2 % based on molecular confirmation. Factors including age, sex, and breed showed statistically significant association with BTB (p?<?0.05). Gross lesions were observed most frequently (68 %) in the lungs and lung-associated lymph nodes compared to other organs and lymph nodes. Of the 25 grossly suspicious TB lesions processed and cultured, only six (24 %) were culture-positive, yielding Mycobacterium bovis confirmed by RD4 deletion typing. Further characterization of the six M. bovis isolates at the strain level by using spoligotyping revealed that one did not belong to any previously known type, while the others belonged to types SB1176 (two), SB1477 (two), and SB0133 (one). The new strain was submitted to the international M. Bovis.org database for international code designation. The study confirms the considerable prevalence of bovine tuberculosis in cattle slaughtered at Addis Ababa abattoir and highlights the need for control of bovine tuberculosis in the country.     

Cysticercosis of slaughtered cattle in northwestern Ethiopia

The occurrence of cysticercosis due to Taenia saginata in cattle slaughtered for meat in Amhara National Regional State, northwestern Ethiopia between September 2005 and February 2007 was investigated. Routine meat inspection of various organs of 4456 cattle in eight abattoirs of this region showed that 824 (18.49%) were infected with Cysticercus bovis. The occurrence rate did not vary significantly from abattoir to abattoir (P>0.5). The tongue, masseter muscles, heart muscles, triceps muscles and thigh muscles were the main predilection sites of the cysts. Of 4102 male cattle, examined, 768 (18.72%) had cysts of C. bovis while 56 (15.82%) of the 354 female animals investigated were infected. The animals slaughtered were all adults. No significant difference in occurrence was recorded between the sexes. Monthly occurrence of the cysts in the animals revealed a rise of infected animals during the dry season.     

Prevalence of bovine parvovirus infection in Ontario dairy cattle.

Studies were conducted to determine prevalence and dynamics of bovine parvovirus (BPV) infection. Dairy cows from 29 randomly selected herds in southwestern Ontario were tested twice, one year apart, for the presence of hemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibodies against BPV. Fifty-one percent of 1141 cows tested had BPV-HI titers > 1:32. One year later, the seroprevalence was 83% in 1131 cows from the same farms. The herd mean seroprevalence was 49% and 86% for the year-1 and year-2 samples, respectively. Evidence of BPV infection was found in 96% (27/28) of herds in year-1 and 100% of herds in year-2. A comparison of titers from 716 cows tested twice showed evidence of frequent BPV infection. Sixty-two percent of 326 animals selected in a systematic manner from 40 Guelph area dairy farms had BPV-HI titers > 1:32. The herd mean seroprevalence was 64% Two herds had no animals with titers above the critical titer (1:32) while in one-quarter of the herds all animals exceeded the critical titer.     

Prevalence of bovine herpesvirus-1 in the Belgian cattle population

The national bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1) seroprevalence (apparent prevalence) in the Belgian cattle population was determined by a serological survey that was conducted from December 1997 to March 1998. In a random sample of herds (N=556), all cattle (N=28 478) were tested for the presence of antibodies to glycoprotein B of BHV-1. No differentiation could be made between vaccinated and infected animals, because the exclusive use of marker vaccines was imposed by law only in 1997 by the Belgian Veterinary Authorities. Twenty-one percent of the farmers vaccinated continuously against BHV-1.

In the unvaccinated group, the overall herd, individual-animal and median within-herd seroprevalences were estimated to be 67% (95% confidence interval (CI)=62–72), 35.9% (95% CI=35.0–36.8) and 33% (quartiles=14–62), respectively.

Assuming a test sensitivity and specificity of 99 and 99.7%, respectively, the true herd, individual-animal and median within-herd prevalence for the unvaccinated group of herds were estimated to be 65, 36 and 34%, respectively. The true herd prevalence for dairy, mixed and beef herds were respectively, 84, 89 and 53%; the true individual-animal prevalence for those types of herds were, respectively, 35, 43 and 31%; whereas, the true median within-herd prevalences were 36, 29 and 38%.     

Prevalence of bovine cysticercosis and hydatidosis in Jimma municipal abattoir, South West Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence of bovine cysticercosis and hydatidosis was conducted from October 2007 to March 2008 in cattle slaughtered at the Jimma municipal abattoir. Cyst distribution and viability of bovine cysticercosis and hydatidosis were also determined. A total of 512 carcasses were inspected of which 15 (2.93%) and 161 (31.44%) were infected with Taenia saginata metacestodes and hydatid cysts, respectively. From a total of 109 cysticerci collected from infected carcasses, 47 (43.12%) were viable. The anatomical distribution of the cysticerci was, shoulder muscle (39.5%), heart (33.9%), neck muscle (13.8%), tongue (10.1%), masseter muscles (1.8%) and diaphragm (0.9%). Of the 1171 hydatid cysts collected 223 (19.0%) were fertile, 505 (43.1%) sterile, 49 (29.8%) calcified and 94 (8.0%) contained pus. A greater proportion of fertile cysts were found in the lungs than in other organs. It was concluded that these zoonotic cestodes deserve due attention to safeguard public health, and that further studies are needed on genotyping, epidemiology and public health importance of Echinococcus granulosus in the study area.     

Prevalence of ixodid ticks on cattle and sheep southeast of Iran

A survey was carried out to investigate the prevalence of hard tick species (Acari: Ixodidae) on cattle and sheep southeast of Iran. A total of 972 ticks were collected from 280 infested cattle and 1,207 ticks were collected from 632 infested sheep during activating seasons of ticks in 2008–2009. The species collected from cattle were Hyalomma marginatum marginatum (50.92%), Hyalomma anatolicum excavatum (25.61%), Hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum (8.12%), Hyalomma asiaticum asiaticum (1.85%), and Rhipicephalus sanguineus (13.47%) while the species collected from sheep were R. sanguineus (36.37%), H. marginatum marginatum (30.65%), H. anatolicum excavatum (19.05%), H. asiaticum asiaticum (10.52%), Hyalomma detritum (3.14%), and Dermacentor marginatus (0.24%). The results show that, H. marginatum marginatum, H. anatolicum excavatum, and R. sanguineus are dominant tick species in the surveyed area.     

Microbiological differences between cull cattle slaughtered at an abattoir and cull cattle slaughtered on farms

Tissue samples from 27 casualty adult dairy cattle slaughtered on farms and 32 'normal' cull dairy cattle were analysed microbiologically for total viable counts (tvc), Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli o157, Salmonella enterica and Campylobacter species. Overall the counts of Enterobacteriaceae and tvc were higher in the animals slaughtered on farms, particularly in the spleen. One 'normal' animal yielded E coli O157, and one yielded Campylobacter jejuni, and eight of the cattle slaughtered on farms yielded C jejuni and five yielded S enterica.