Prevalence of Cystic Echinococcosis in Cattle Slaughtered in Kastamonu Slaughterhouse and Its Importance in Turkish Economy

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of cystic echinococcosis (CE) in cattle slaughtered in the slaughterhouse of Kastamonu Municipality, where cattle breeding is common and to determine the economic loss in the country's economy due to this disease. A total of 5511 bovine livers were examined postmortem for CE between January and December 2021. Of the 5511 cattle, 3872 are male and 1639 are female. In the postmortem examination, the livers of the animals were examined and the number of animals with CE was calculated to be 524 and the preva-lence of the disease was 9.51%. In animals, the highest monthly prevalence was observed in July with 14.85% and the lowest prevalence in December with 3.94%. CE was the lowest with 4.94% in winter and the highest with 13.68% in summer. CE was found to be the lowest in male animals with 4.44% in winter and the highest prevalence in summer with 12.70%. The prevalence of the disease in female animals was 6.79% in winter and 21.32% in summer. Livers with CE were destroyed regardless of infection intensity. As a result of this study, with the destruction of 524 livers, 136240 TL (13859 USD) was lost to the Turkish economy. It has been stated that CE is common in Kastamonu as in Turkey and causes great economic losses.