<i>Taenia saginata</i> (goeze,1782) In Cattle Slaughtered In Idah Metropolis, Kogi State, Nigeria.

Abstract

An abattoir-based survey of taeniaisis due to Taenia saginata was carried out among the cattle slaughtered for human consumption in Idah LGA, Kogi State, Nigeria. A total of 264 cattle were examined for five consecutive weeks in the months of June and July (i.e. the peak rainy season in the region), and 43 (16.3%) of them were infected with T. saginata. An overall geometric mean intensity of 2,765.8 eggs per gram of faeces (epg) obtained showed a relatively high intensity of infection. Female cattle had a higher prevalence of infection (26.5%) than the males (10.2%) (P<0.75). The intensity of infection was also higher in females (3,567.4 epg) than in males (1,827.8 epg) (P<0.05). Seven live Taenia saginata were extracted from the males and the mean of their maximum length ranged from 44.2 – 91.2cm (x +- SD: 67.7 +- 23.5cm) while their maximum width ranged from 1.3 to 1.5 cm (x+- SD: 1.4+-0.1). A total of 20 live worms were collected from females with the mean maximum length ranging from 37.8 – 145.6cm (x +- SD: 91.7+-53.9), and mean maximum width ranged from 1.1 – 1.7cm (x +-SD: 1.4 +- 0.3). The mean size of the parasite in both sexes differed significantly (P<0.05) being higher in females (91.7cm) than in males (67.7cm). The relatively high prevalence of taeniasis among the cattle hosts and its zoonotic implication are discussed.

Keywords: Teaniasis, T. saginata, bulls, cows, prevalence, intensity of infections.

The Zoologist Vol. 5 2007: pp. 8-15