The study of major parasitic causes of organ condemnation and financial losses in cattle slaughtered at Hawassa Municipal Abattoir, Ethiopia

The prevalence of major parasitic infections is responsible for the condemnation of major organs during meat inspection, this leads to the associated economic losses. This study was conducted from November 2010 to April 2011 on cattle slaughtered at Hawassa Municipal Abattoir. Liver, lung, heart and kidneys were the organs examined for the parasites and find that Fasciola spp.’s (37.19%), hydatid cyst (73.65%) and Cysticercus bovis (5.91%) were the main factors for condemnation of those inspected organs. Out of 406 cattle examined postmortem, 313 (77.09%) animals had at least one organ condemned due to the presence of helminth parasites. Among those 228 (56.16%), 234 (57.63%), 42 (10.34%) and 30 (7.39%) animals’ liver, lung, heart and kidney were rejected respectively. Helminth parasites presence were compared among the different body conditions of animals and a statistically significant difference (p 0.05). The financial loss between 2010 and2011 due to the condemnation of these organs was calculated to be 651,342.5 Eth birr (£20,592.03 GBP) per annum. Therefore, creation of awareness on animal attendants and/or cattle owners and abattoir workers about the effect of parasites and safe disposal of condemned organs must be made