Fascioliasis in cattle slaughtered at Gombe abattoir, Nigeria

A study to determine the prevalence of fascioliasis in cattle slaughtered at the Gombe township abattoir was carried out from April – June 2009. Three hundred and twenty livers and bile ducts of four breeds of cattle slaughtered at the abattoir were examined for fascioliasis at postmortem. The four breeds of cattle were White Fulani (155), Red Bororo (92), Sokoto Gudali (53) and Muturu (20). An overall prevalence of 83 (25.9%) was recorded. The white Fulani breed was the most infected, with a prevalence of 56 (36.1%), Red Bororo 20 (21.7%), Sokoto Gudali 7 (13.2) and Muturu 0 (0.0%). Inspection by age and sex revealed that adults had a prevalence of 52 (37.4%), young adults 27 (20.1), and calves 4 (8.5%), while males had a prevalence of 66 (29.1%) and females 17 (18.3%). These differences were statistically significant. The study concludes that fascioliasis is prevalent in cattle in Gombe and could be of economic and public health significance.Keywords: Prevalence, Fascioliasis, Breed, Cattle, Gombe, Nigeria