Anatomopathology study of Echinococcosis in slaughtered sheep in the region of Batna (East Algeria)

Echinococcosis is a disease that causes public health problems and economic losses directly by the organ seizures made at the slaughterhouses or indirectly through fall of productivity in affected animals. The cycle of the parasite threatens the human health because its persistence in the dog facilitates its transmission. It seemed useful to conduct this survey in order to establish an estimate of the prevalence of pulmonary hydatid cysts through the study of infested lungs examined at the slaughterhouse of Batna. The present study was conducted in the municipal abattoir, to determine the prevalence of hydatid cysts in lungs of sheep slaughtered from March to September 2013.  A total of 7420 sheep including 7289 males (less than 01 year of age) and 131 females (more than 03 years of age) were slaughtered and examined for the prevalence echinococcosis. The prevalence of echinococcosis was 0.013% for males (01/7289) and 37.40% for females (49/131). The prevalence of the hydatid cysts in lungs of females varied significantly according to season and host age (P<0.001). The sheep play an important role in maintaining of the parasite cycle especially females because they are kept for a longer time for breeding and slaughtered only after the reform age, which increases the possibility of the development of hydatid cyst.