THE PREVALENCE OF HYDATIDOSIS IN RUMINANTS OF DIFFERENT IRAQI REGIONS

Abstract

A retrospective study covered the period of 10-year (2000-2010) to investigate the prevalence of hydatidosis in ruminants of three provinces abattoirs in Iraq (Al Muthanna, Al Qadysiah and Al Najaf). A total of 923391 animals including 424167 sheep, 163070 goats, 264351 cow, 33133 buffalo and 38670 camel, inspected macroscopically for hydatidosis in 10-year period, out of which 9909, 2250, 6387, 740 and 414 respectively were infected with hydatidosis. The incidence of the disease in all slaughtered animals varied according to the province, but in general, Al Muthanna province recorded the highest incidence among all slaughtered species followed by Al Qadysiah then Al Najaf province. Buffalo recorded the highest incidence percentage (5.5%) in Al Muthanna and sheep (3.8%) in AlQadysiah while in AL Najaf cow showed the highest incidence (2.1%). The current results provide a baseline data for the prevalence of this parasitic disease in these three provinces and its incidence among different species of ruminants, which provide the opportunity for future monitoring and evaluation leading to control programs of hydatid cyst in Iraq.