Prevalence of zoonotic helminth infections in ruminants slaughtered at Haromaya Municipal Abattoir in Eastern Ethiopia

Abstract

Zoonotic helminth parasites are naturally transmitted between animals and humans and have public health importance. A cross-sectional study was carried out from November 2023 to July 2024. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence, associated risk factors, and economic impact of zoonotic helminth infections in ruminants slaughtered at Haromaya Municipal Abattoirs, Eastern Ethiopia. A simple random sampling technique was used to select the animals used in this study. The prevalence was determined based on records of parasitic infections identified during postmortem examinations of 400 animals (245 cattle, 86 goats, and 69 sheep). The overall prevalence of zoonotic helminth parasites was 52.3 % (95 % CI: 25.2–70.5). The most prevalent parasitic infection was Fasciola species infections (30.3 %), and the lowest was cysticercosis bovis infection (4.0 %). Out of the 400 livers inspected, 30.0 % tested positive for Fasciola species, with F. hepatica accounting for 15.5 %. An overall prevalence of 3.8 % for C. bovis was recorded, with 2.5 % in the masseter muscle. Among the 111 cysts studied, there were 62 fertile and 49 non-fertile cysts. In the study area, males had a significantly higher prevalence of helminth infections (62.8 %) than females (40.5 %), with males being 2.5 times more likely to be infected (OR = 2.5; 95 % CI: 1.7–3.7; p < 0.05). Annual direct financial losses from zoonotic helminth infections were estimated at 98,363,520 ETB (around 786,908.16 USD), underscoring their widespread and significant economic impact in the study area. Therefore, enhancing sanitary conditions, routine meat inspection, and reporting systems in abattoirs are encouraged.