<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>A total of 10,696 randomly selected sheep have been collected in two slaughterhouses in the north of Algeria (El Harrach and Boufarik) to determine the prevalence of muscular cysticercosis and macroscopic cysts of sarcosporidiosis, to find out the association between prevalence and potential risk factors, as well as to assess the distribution of these parasites in the surface’s muscles of slaughtered sheep. All of the slaughtered sheep carcasses were visually and carefully inspected. Cysticercosis and sarcosporidiosis were found in 220 (2.06 %) and 76 (0.7 %) sheep, respectively. For both diseases, the prevalence was significantly higher in females than males. The prevalence of <italic>Cysticercus ovis</italic> increased with age, and the difference was statistically significant (P &lt; 0.0001), while all infected animals were old (over 5 years old) for sarcosporidiosis. For <italic>C. ovis</italic>, it didn’t have significant difference between the seasons, however, all sheep were infected in the spring for sarcosporidiosis. All the detected cysts of <italic>C. ovis</italic> were non-viable, and were more frequently detected in the heart (51.82 %), followed by the diaphragm (30.77 %) and the oesophagus (17.41 %). This anatomical distribution of <italic>C. ovis</italic> cysts showed a significant variation (P &lt; 0.001) in different predilection sites. Whereas, for sarcosporidiosis, the species involved was identified as <italic>S. gigantea</italic> by histology and were distributed in the organs as follows: the skeletal muscles (38.15 %), the oesophagus (31.57 %) and the diaphragm (30.26 %); no significant difference were noted between the 3 sites. The present study has revealed that these parasites are present in Algeria. Appropriate control measures need to be introduced to eradicate these parasites in sheep.</p>
</abstract>

A total of 10,696 randomly selected sheep have been collected in two slaughterhouses in the north of Algeria (El Harrach and Boufarik) to determine the prevalence of muscular cysticercosis and macroscopic cysts of sarcosporidiosis, to find out the association between prevalence and potential risk factors, as well as to assess the distribution of these parasites in the surface’s muscles of slaughtered sheep. All of the slaughtered sheep carcasses were visually and carefully inspected. Cysticercosis and sarcosporidiosis were found in 220 (2.06 %) and 76 (0.7 %) sheep, respectively. For both diseases, the prevalence was significantly higher in females than males. The prevalence of Cysticercus ovis increased with age, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.0001), while all infected animals were old (over 5 years old) for sarcosporidiosis. For C. ovis, it didn’t have significant difference between the seasons, however, all sheep were infected in the spring for sarcosporidiosis. All the detected cysts of C. ovis were non-viable, and were more frequently detected in the heart (51.82 %), followed by the diaphragm (30.77 %) and the oesophagus (17.41 %). This anatomical distribution of C. ovis cysts showed a significant variation (P < 0.001) in different predilection sites. Whereas, for sarcosporidiosis, the species involved was identified as S. gigantea by histology and were distributed in the organs as follows: the skeletal muscles (38.15 %), the oesophagus (31.57 %) and the diaphragm (30.26 %); no significant difference were noted between the 3 sites. The present study has revealed that these parasites are present in Algeria. Appropriate control measures need to be introduced to eradicate these parasites in sheep.

Macroscopic Parasitic Lesions of Sheep Meat at Two Slaughterhouses in the North of Algeria

Folia Veterinaria

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

A total of 10,696 randomly selected sheep have been collected in two slaughterhouses in the north of Algeria (El Harrach and Boufarik) to determine the...

Macroscopic Parasitic Lesions of Sheep Meat at Two Slaughterhouses in the North of Algeria

Published Online: Oct 02, 2022

Page range: 1 - 8

Received: Feb 04, 2022

Accepted: May 25, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fv-2022-0021

Keywords
muscular cysticercosis, sarcosporidiosis, sheep, slaughterhouses

© 2022 As. Dahmani et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Macroscopic Parasitic Lesions of Sheep Meat at Two Slaughterhouses in the North of Algeria

Published Online: Oct 02, 2022

Page range: 1 - 8

Received: Feb 04, 2022

Accepted: May 25, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fv-2022-0021

Keywordsmuscular cysticercosis, sarcosporidiosis, sheep, slaughterhouses

© 2022 As. Dahmani et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
muscular cysticercosis, sarcosporidiosis, sheep, slaughterhouses