An abattoir survey of hydatid and liver fluke disease in slaughtered cattle in Alborz Province, Iran

Abstract

Zoonotic diseases are a significant burden on animal and human health, particularly in developing countries. Despite recognition of this fact, endemic zoonoses often remain undiagnosed and are considered as ongoing and important problems. The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of zoonotic diseases of cattle and its relation with climatic elements in different seasons in order to more accurately recognize the epidemiology of these diseases in slaughtered cattle in Alborz Province. From January 2009 to March 2013, in a cross-sectional study, 131,668 livers of cattle were examined to investigate and provide data on the prevalence of some zoonotic helminthes as hydatid cyst, Fasciola, and Dicrocoelium in cattle in Alborz Province, Iran. The other inspected variables in this study include climatic elements such as humidity, precipitation, temperature, and wind speed in different seasons, and their effect on prevalence was statistically investigated. In slaughtered cattle, the prevalence of Fasciola spp. was 2.09% while that of Dicrocoelium dendriticum and hydatid cyst was 2.46 and 9.95%, respectively. According to the results, there were a direct correlation and significant statistical relationship between hydatid cyst prevalence and humidity in spring (p = 0.023, r = 0.928) and an inverse correlation and significant statistical relationship with temperature in spring (p = 0.004, r = − 0.978) while a direct correlation and significant relationship between fasciolosis prevalence and humidity in spring in cattle (p = 0.026, r = 0.922) were observed. Furthermore, an inverse correlation and significant relationship between dicrocoeliosis prevalence and temperature in spring are also observed (p = 0.048, r = − 0.881). It can calculate Alborz Province as an endemic area for hydatidosis and distomatosis while the epidemiology of hydatid cyst, fasciolosis, and dicrocoeliosis is significantly related with some climatic indices in that region.