An abattoir survey of caprine liver diseases in the sultanate of Oman

The examination of 675 caprine livers from a slaughterhouse in the Greater Muscat area in the Sultanate of Oman revealed that 63 (9.3%) exhibited gross pathological changes leading to condemnation of this organ. Forty of these livers (71.4%) exhibited one major abnormality, whereas the remaining 28.6% had two or more lesions. The most frequently occurring disorder was diffuse hepatic lipidosis (4.0%), followed by bacterial associated abscesses (2.4%), cysticercosis (1.9%), and eosinophilic granulomata (1%). Although the cause for the hepatic lipidosis was not determined it appeared to be a reversible condition based on the absence of degenerative nuclei within the affected hepatocytes. Conditions observed in only a single liver were subcapsular (non-parasitic) cysts, focal necrosis, micronodular cirrhosis, extensive bile duct proliferation and diffuse haemorrhage.