Prevalence of Bovine Fasciolosis in the Comoe River Basin, Southwestern Burkina Faso

Abstract

Fasciolosis is considered a rising zoonotic infection and remains one of the main neglected tropical diseases. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of bovine fasciolosis in the Comoé province of southwest Burkina Faso. A cross-sectional study was conducted in three villages of the Comoé River in the Cascades region of Burkina Faso. A total of 100 zebu cattle (Bos indicus), aged between 6 and 24 months and of both sexes (excluding pregnant animals), from nine farms across three villages were randomly selected and sampled. The presence or absence of Fasciola spp. eggs in relation to the animals’ sex and origin were evaluated in the selected samples. Fecal samples were collected from each bovine rectum in a tight plastic bag, kept at +4°C, and transferred to the laboratory of the International Research and Development Center on Livestock Farming in Sub-humid Areas (CIRDES) based in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, for subsequent analysis. Fasciola spp. eggs were detected in fecal samples using the Malan and Visser fecal egg counting method. The present study was conducted through a systematic examination of 4,992 bovine livers (including zebu and crossbred animals, both sexes, aged 2-4 years) collected over one year at the abattoir in Banfora, the capital of Comoé Province, Burkina Faso. At the slaughterhouse, the liver flukes were identified by size and morphology. According to the results, 40% of the fecal samples were positive for Fasciola spp. infection. There was no statistically significant difference between males and females. Fasciola gigantica was detected in only 3.43% of the examined livers. Fasciolosis was found to be affected by season and sex, with higher rates in the rainy season and among females at the abattoir, Burkina Faso. The current findings confirmed the endemic presence of bovine fasciolosis in Comoé Province, characterized by a high prevalence in farms (40%) and a low rate of adult Fasciola gigantica infection in slaughtered cattle livers (3.43%).