Abstract

Pie Nzeyimana , Gervais Habarugira, Jean Claude Udahemuka, Borden Mushonga and Michael Tukei

Bovine cysticercosis caused by the larval stage of the human tapeworm Taenia saginata is a zoonotic disease of great public health significance especially in developing countries. The present study was conducted on 291 slaughtered cattle at Nyagatare slaughterhouse in Eastern Rwanda between December 2013 and April 2014 to determine prevalence of bovine cysticercosis and its associated risk factors. Nine out of the 291 meat carcasses examined at postmortem were found to be infected with the parasite (3%). The infestation rate was higher in adult cattle than young cattle, where the highest prevalence (66.7%) was detected in older cattle 5 years and above followed by the carcasses of middle aged cattle of 3-5 years. The infestation was lowest in carcasses of cattle of young age (2-3 years). There was no significant difference (p>0.05) between breeds of slaughtered cattle, where out of 9 infected animals, 5 were from local breed and 4 were from crosses breed. On the other hand, the infestation rate was higher in female than male carcasses, but there is no significant variation was observed between sexes of cattle (p> 0.05). The infestation was mainly found in the heart muscles (35%, n=9), followed by masseter muscles (29.5%, n=9), tongue muscles (29.5%, n=9) and diaphragm muscles (6%, n=9). However, there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the distribution rates of the cysticerci in the various organs of the cattle slaughtered at the abattoir.