Prevalence and morphological characterisation of Cysticercus tenuicollis (Taenia hydatigena cysts) in sheep and goat from north India

Taenia hydatigena is an adult parasite of dogs with the metacestode (Cysticercus tenuicollis) stage residing in ruminants and pigs. Documentation and surveillance data concerning to the prevalence and risk factors associated with the disease in India is largely lacking. In this experiment, 3,199 carcasses, including 760 sheep and 2,439 goat were examined for the presence of C. tenuicollis (T. hydatigena cysts) on post-mortem inspection at different slaughter houses/shops in northern India. Morphological analysis was also conducted on five samples from each species. Out of 3199 carcasses examined, 135 were found containing cysts of T. hydatigena indicating a prevalence of 4.22 %. Most of the cysts were present in abdominal cavity, except few which were embedded in the liver. The high prevalence of 4.83 was recorded in goats as compared to 2.23 % in sheep. Principal component analysis was applied for statistical analysis. The results of morphological analysis indicated its usefulness as a valid criterion for differentiation of T. hydatigena cysts and that there might be possibility of two different strains infecting sheep and goat.