The abattoir condemnation of meat because of parasitic infection, and its economic importance: results of a retrospective study in north–eastern Iran

Abstract

In nine districts in the north of Khorasan province, in north-eastern Iran, a 5-year retrospective study was carried out to determine the prevalences, in livestock slaughtered in abattoirs, of the parasitic infections responsible for the condemnation of the animals' carcasses and viscera (and the economic importance of such infections in terms of lost meat and offal). Between 20 March 2005 and 19 March 2010, 436,620 animals (45,360 cattle, 275,439 sheep, 115,674 goats and 147 camels) were slaughtered in the study area and the livers of 30,207 (6.9%), the lungs of 23,259 (5.3%) and the carcasses of 1072 (0.2%) of these animals were condemned. Almost all (92.4%) of the condemned livers, most (68.9%) of the condemned lungs but only 10.8% of the condemned carcasses were rejected because of parasitic infection. The parasitic lesions observed in the condemned livers were attributed to Echinococcus granulosus, Fasciola hepatica and/or Dicrocoelium dendriticum (cattle, sheep and goats) or entirely to E. granulosus (camels). All the parasitic lesions observed in the condemned lungs (which also came from cattle, sheep, goats and camels) were attributed to E. granulosus. Sarcocystis cysts and/or Taenia cysticerci were found in ovine muscle while only Taenia cysticerci were detected in bovine muscle (no parasitic lesions were observed in the muscles of the goats and camels). Parasites were responsible for 80.8% of the condemned organs or carcasses, and the value of the food lost because of parasite-related condemnation (based on market prices in 2010) was estimated to be U.S.$421,826 (U.S.$47,980 for cattle, U.S.$316,344.0 for sheep, U.S.$57,372 for goats and U.S.$130 for camels). The parasites contributing most to the condemnation of otherwise marketable organs and muscles were E. granulosus (52.2%) and D. dendriticum flukes (29.5%). These parasites clearly remain too common and cause considerable economic loss in Khorasan and, presumably, other areas of Iran.

An epidemiological survey on intestinal helminths of stray dogs in Mashhad, North-east of Iran

“…They estimated those findings were related to the level of acquired intestinal immunity to the cestodes in various endemic conditions. The studies from Razavi Khorasan (Borji et al 2011;Borji et al 2012a) and different parts of Iran (Rokni 2009;Borji and Parandeh 2010;Borji et al 2012b) confirm the fact that Iran is an endemic area for E. granulosus. However, Eslami and Hosseini (1998), Maleky and Moradkhan (2000) and Razmi et al (2006) noted that agedependent difference was not significant.…”

Global Distribution of Alveolar and Cystic Echinococcosis

“…In Iran, CE in livestock constitutes a major economic and public health problem. In a 5-year study of abattoirs in nine districts in the northeastern province of Khorasan, an estimated 52.2% of the livestock viscera condemnations were due to CE (Borji and Parandeh, 2010). The corresponding figure in a similar 5-year study in southwestern province of Khuzestan was 29.2% (Borji et al, 2012a).…”

First detection of acalculous cholecystitis associated with Sarcocystis infection in a patient with AIDS

“…There are reports of Sarcocystis infection in hoofed animals and seropositivity in the human population in Iran, but there are very few reports of Sarcocystis infection in humans as the definitive host (Shekarforoush et al 2005;Nourollahi Fard et al 2009;Borji and Parandeh 2010;Nourani et al 2010).…”