Prevalence, financial impact and public health significance of Cysticercus bovis at Bahir Dar Municipal Abattoir, Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2016 to April 2017 to determine the prevalence of cysticercosis, asses the associated risk factors and public health importance of human taniasis at Bahir Dar municipal abattoir, Bahir Dar town. Active abattoir survey from local zebu cattle presented to Bahir Dar abattoir and questionnaire surveys data collected were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Out of 480 inspected animals, 20 animals had varying number of Cysticercus bovis with prevalence of 4.2% (20/480). Cyst distribution per organs were; tongue 12/20 (2.5%), shoulder 10/20 (2.08%), masseter muscle 7/20 (1.46%), heart 4/20 (0.8%) and liver 1/20(0.21%). From the total number of 119 C. bovis collected from the infected 20 cattle during the study period, 73 (61.3%) were found to be alive while the rest 46 (38.7%) were degenerative cysts. Cysticercosis prevalence showed that there was no statistically difference among age groups and body condition score with the occurrence of C. bovis (p>0.05). Of the total 69 interviewed respondents, 30.4% (21/69) had contracted Taenia saginata infection. The prevalence of taeniosis showed significant difference (p 0.05). The findings of this study indicated the importance of bovine cysticercosis and taeniosis in the study area. Therefore, attention should be given to the public awareness and routine meat inspection to be safe to public health and promote meat industry in the country Key words: Abattoir, Bahir dar, Cysticercus bovis, prevalence, public health.