Prevalence of hydatid cyst, Fasciola spp. and Dicrocoelium dendriticum in cattle and sheep slaughtered in Sabzevar abattoir, Iran.

Hydatid cyst, Dicrocoelium dendriticum, and Fasciola spp. are common parasites among ruminants. The current study was conducted to assess the prevalence of these parasites in cattle and sheep slaughtered in Sabzevar abattoir, from April 2014 to March 2016. Total of 1653 cattle and 26720 sheep were inspected for helminthic infections of liver and lung in different seasons. The prevalence rates were found to be 684 (2.55%) and 235 (14.21%) in sheep and cattle, respectively. The infection rate of liver in cattle was estimated to be 5.86%, 0.84% and 5.68% for hydatid cysts, Fasciola spp. and D. dendriticum, respectively and lung infection with hydatid cyst in cattle was 1.81%. Moreover, the liver infection rate of sheep was estimated to be 0.87%, 0.06% and 2.13% with hydatid cysts, Fasciola spp. and D. dendriticum, respectively and lung infection with hydatid cyst was 0.35%. The rate of infection with D. dendriticum was higher in the both animals than the other parasites. The results of this study indicated that the prevalence of the aforementioned parasites was high, which caused high economic losses. Therefore, sanitary and preventive measures should be taken.