ABSTRACT
Objective: Echinococcosis or hydatid cyst in humans and livestock is resulted from the larval stage of dog tapeworm, Echinococcus granulosus. Although Iran is considered as an endemic focus of echinococcosis in the world, however the status of three well-known aspects of the infection, i.e. canids, livestock and humans populations, is not still completely elucidated in Arak city, the capital of the Markazi province. This study aimed to elucidate the livestock infection in the region.
Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, after necessary coordination with the provincial administration of Iranian Veterinary Organization, totally 860,171 livestock slaughtered in industrial slaughterhouse of Arak city, including 364,682 sheep, 117,495 cattle, and 377,994 goats were investigated during 2006 to 2012. The collected data were statistically analyzed using SPSS software.
Results: The average prevalence of liver and lung infection in studied livestock was 1.94% and 3.24%, respectively. Sheep and goats have the highest and lowest prevalence of both liver and lung infection, respectively. Prevalence of hydatid cyst in goats and sheep, not cattle, in various years of the study period showed a statistically significant difference.
Conclusion: Our results revealed a lower infection rate of hydatid cysts in the livestock of this region compared to the country average and many other Iranian provinces. Moreover, the study may imply an active local transmission cycle of echinococcosis.
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