Archives on Veterinary Science and Technology

Mohammed C, et al. Arch Vet Sci Technol: AVST-140.

Research Article DOI: 10.29011/AVST-140. 100040

Prevalence of Bovine Fasciolosis and its Associated Risk Factors in

Eastern Shoa, Kuyu District Central Ethiopia
Chala Mohammed1*, Liulseged Nigussie1, Jiregna Dugasa1, Umer Seid2
1
School of Veterinary Medicine, Wollega University, Nekemte, Ethiopia
2
Department of Animal science Oda Bultum University, Chiro, Ethiopia
*
Corresponding author: Chala Mohammed, School of Veterinary Medicine, Wollega University, PO Box 395, Nekemte, Ethiopia.
Tel: +251913115805; Email: [email protected]
Citation: Mohammed C, Nigussie L, Dugasa J, Seid U (2018) Prevalence of Bovine Fasciolosis and its Associated Risk Factors in
Eastern Shoa, Kuyu District Central Ethiopia. Arch Vet Sci Technol: AVST-140. DOI: 10.29011/AVST-140. 100040
Received Date: 30 December, 2017; Accepted Date: 05 January, 2018; Published Date: 16 January, 2018

Abstract
Across-sectional study was conducted with the aim of determining the prevalence of fasciolosis and to evaluate the major
host related risk factors on the occurrence of fasciolosis in cattle from September 2016 to June, 2017 at Kuyu district North shoa.
Out of 384 coprologically examined cattle, 208(54.2%) animals were found positive for Fasciola eggs. The prevalence of fas-
ciolosis in different age groups showed that 61.2%for <2 years, 50.6 % for 2-4 years and 55.1% for >4 years, respectively, while
prevalence based on sex revealed 70.6% for female and 36.06% for male, respectively. Prevalence based on body condition score
revealed that 37.5% for good, 46.6 % for medium and 66.5% for poor body condition, respectively. Among the assessed risk fac-
tors, sex and body condition was statistically significant (P<0.05) while, there was a statistically no significant difference in the
prevalence of bovine fasciolosis in different age groups considered Generally finding of this study revealed that the disease is
more prevalent in the study site characterized by high rate of Fasciolosis in cattle which needs particular attention by most of the
professionals and government as it affects both the production and productivity of cattle’s.

Keywords: Bovine; District; Fasciolosis; Kuyu; Prevalence constrained by a number of factors including malnutrition, disease,
improper health care and other managerial problem [4].
Introduction
Among the disease constraints parasitic disease is the ma-
Ethiopia, located in the horn of Africa between latitude 30° jor problem in livestock industry. Of these, Fasciolosis is a major
north to 15° north of the equator and the longitude from 33° East disease, which imposes direct and indirect economic impact on
and 48° East, with a total land area of 1,101,000 km the proportion livestock production particularly of sheep and cattle. It also causes
of a total population in agriculture sector is 82.4% (Central Statis- public health significance. Fasciolosis, a disease of the bile duct of
tical Authority [1]. The agricultural sector is characterized largely domestic herbivorous animals, contributes to great economic and
by mixed farming system in which livestock play the vital role in health losses in the cattle industry in many countries worldwide
the farming system of the country by giving draft power supply [5]. Fasciolosis is an economically important disease of domestic
for crop production, as a source of meat, milk and cash income. livestock, in particular cattle and sheep. The disease is caused by
According to Central Statistical Ethiopia is believed to have the Trematode of the genus Fasciola, commonly referred to as liver
largest livestock population in Africa, of roughly 53.99 million an- flukes. The two species most commonly implicated as the etiologi-
imals out of this total cattle population, the female cattle constitute cal agents of Fasciolosis are F. hepatica and F. gigantica. F. he-
about 55.48% and the remaining 44.52% are male cattle [2]. patica has a worldwide distribution but predominates in temperate
The cattle constitute the major proportion of Ethiopian live- zones while F. gigantica is found on most continents, primarily in
stock resources. They provide more than 30% of local meat con- tropical regions. Both F. hepatica and F. gigantica are transmitted
sumption and generate cash in come from export of meat and live by the snails of the family Lymnaesidae [6].
animals. They also contribute to the self-sufficiency of resources The two most important species, Fasciola hepatica found in
for poor farmers by providing milk, meat, manure and direct cash temperate area and in cooler areas of high altitude in the tropics and
income [3]. Large animal product of Ethiopia is however being subtropics and Fasciola gigantica, which predominates in tropical

1 Volume 2018; Issue 01

Citation: Mohammed C, Nigussie L, Dugasa J, Seid U (2018) Prevalence of Bovine Fasciolosis and its Associated Risk Factors in Eastern Shoa, Kuyu District Central
Ethiopia. Arch Vet Sci Technol: AVST-140. DOI: 10.29011/AVST-140. 100040

area. Fasciola hepatica is found in area above 1800 m.a.s.l. In be- Study Design and Study Animal
tween these altitude limits, both species coexists where ecology is
conductive for both snail hosts, and mixed infections prevailed the For this study, cross sectional type of study design was appro-
snail of the genus Lymnae natalensis and Lymnae truncatula are priate with samples collected from cattle raised in Kuyu district and
known as intermediate host in life cycle of Fasciolosis. Infection fecal sample were collected and examined at laboratory. Cattle of
with Lymnae truncatulais usually associated with herds and flocks all sexes, breeds and age groups brought to veterinary clinical were
grazing wet marshy land. On the other hand, Fasciola gigantica is the study animals and sampled randomly for this particular study.
a fresh water snail and infection with this species is associated with Sampling Methods and Sample Size Determination
livestock drinking from snails infected watering places as well as
with grazing wetland, which may be seasonally in undated [7]. Simple random sampling method involves selection of sam-
pling unit. The sampled cattle were examined for the presence
Fasciolosis is the disease of great economic importance in of study fasciola by coprology. Age, body condition score and
many countries. The presence of one fluke leads to condemna- general health condition of each sampled animals were recorded.
tion of the liver in slaughtering establishments. The disease is re- During the study period, sampled animals were grouped in to two
sponsible for considerable economic losses in the cattle industry, categories of age groups. The age grouping was based on arbitrary
mainly through mortality, liver condemnation, reduced production classification, those cattle’s which have not erupted the first canine
of meat, milk and wool and expenditures for anthelmintics. The (in ruminants has commonly been accounted as fourth incisors)
world-wide losses in animal productivity due to fasciolosis were were classified as young while those cattle with permanent incisor
estimated at USD 200 million per annum, to rural agricultural teeth were classified as adult [10,11].
communities and commercial producers, with over 600 million
animals infected [8]. The body condition score was estimated using technique by
[12] each scoring will be given number from 1(L-) to 9(F+) and
The economic losses due to fasciolosis are attributed to mor- grouped in to poor, medium and good.
tality, morbidity, and reduced growth rate, condemnation of liver,
increased susceptibility to secondary infection and the expenses of The minimum sample size required for this particular study
control measures [9]. Even though the prevalence of bovine fas- was determined by [13] with an expected prevalence of 50% and
ciolosis were investigated in different parts of Ethiopia; yet there minimum of 384 sample size were needed and all the needed sam-
is no research conducted that shows the prevalence of bovine fas- ple size were included.
ciolosis and its associated risk factors in Kuyu District. N= 1.962(pexp)(1-pexp)
Therefore, the objectives of this study were: … d2
• To determine the prevalence of bovine Fasciolosis in the study Therefore, N=1.962(0.5) (1-0.5)
area
(0.05)2
• To assess the associated risk factors of bovine Fasciolosis in
kuyu district N =384
Where, N= minimum sample size
Materials and Methods
Pexp= expected prevalence which is 50%
Study Area
D = desired level of precision (5%)
The study was conducted from September 2016 to June 2017
in Kuyu woreda which is found in Oromia region, North Shoa Therefore, N= 384, minimum cattle sample.
Zone at a distance of 156 km from Addis Ababa and 36km form
zonal city, Fitche. It lies in altitudinal range of 1000-2500m above
Carpological Examination
level. The mean annual minimum and maximum temperature are Fecal samples were collected directly from rectum of live
25 and 30 0c respectively. Agro ecologically of the woreda is cat- animal to universal screwed bottle and preserved with 10% for-
egorized as high land (Dega), the midland (Weyndega) and the low malin and immediately transported to clinic laboratory. Finally,
land (kola) with total annual rain fall of 1200 mm in average. Ac- all preserved fecal samples were examined by sedimentation tech-
cording to Kuyu Woreda administrative office the total population nique for presence of fluke egg according to [14].
size of the woreda reaches 190,488, from which 94,389 (49.6%)
is male and 96,099 (50.4%) is female. Livestock population regis- Sedimentation Technique
tered was 102,317 cattle, 32,317 sheep, 28726 Goats, 195 Mules, Three grams of fecal samples was collected in jars of approx-
928 Horses, 13923 Donkeys and 73,111 Poultry. imately 50 ml capacity; mixed with 30 ml tap water. The soaked

2 Volume 2018; Issue 01

Citation: Mohammed C, Nigussie L, Dugasa J, Seid U (2018) Prevalence of Bovine Fasciolosis and its Associated Risk Factors in Eastern Shoa, Kuyu District Central
Ethiopia. Arch Vet Sci Technol: AVST-140. DOI: 10.29011/AVST-140. 100040

farces were then mixed with stirrer. The contents of the glass were
Female 201 142 70.6
then allowed to sediment for 3 minutes. The supernatant was slow-
ly discarded and an equal volume of water was added and allowed Body
to sediment for 3 minutes. The supernatant was again slowly dis- Condition
carded. The sediment was stained with 2-3 drops of 1 % methylene Good 75 20 26.6 p<0.0001
blue on the slide and the prepared slide was examined under a
Medium 88 41 46.6
low power magnification microscope. The majority of trematode
eggs are too large and heavy to float reliable in the flotation fluids Poor 221 147 66.5
normally used for nematode eggs. They do however sink rapidly to
Total 384 208 54.2
the bottom of a fecal or water suspension. The examined egg was
seen as operculated and golden yellow in color. Table 1: Prevalence of Bovine Fasciolosis Based on Age, Sex and
Body Condition Score Categories.
Data Management and Analysis
All raw data that were recorded from this study were entered Discussion
into Microsoft Excel database system, Organized and arranged and Current study reveals that out of examined 384 cattles for the
were imported to be analyzed by using SPSS version 20 computer presence of fasciolosis. Among the examined animals, the overall
program, data were summarized and analyzed. A 5% significant prevalence was 208 (54.2%) found to be positive for fasciolosis
level was used to determine whether there were significant differ- in the study areas. The overall prevalence of bovine fasciolosis
ences between risk factors assessed. (54.2%) observed in this study is in close agreement with the
report of Ada’a Bega Woreda, Centeral Ethiopia (50.79%) that
Results
was reported by [15].It is higher than previous study conducted in
A total of 384 cattle was examined for the presence of fas- Mecha District, West Gojam Zone, Northwestern Ethiopia (31.5%)
ciolosis. Among the examined animals, 208 (54.2%) were positive [16], Dangila District, Awi Administration Zone, Northwestern
for fasciolosis. There was a statistically no significant difference in Ethiopia (30.02%) , Aira and Gulliso District, Western Wollega
the prevalence of bovine fasciolosis in different age groups consid- Zone, Oromia Regional State, Western Ethiopia (12.5%) [17]
ered. The highest (61.2%) prevalence was in animals <2 years and Nekemte municipal abattoir (21.9%) [18] and Debre Zeit, Ethiopia
the lowest (50.6%) were found in 2-4years (Table 1). (21%) [19].this difference was observed due to the difference of
agro climatic condition of the given study areas.
Among 384 cattle examined in kuyu district, 183 were male,
from these, 66 (36.06%) were positive for fasciolosis and 142 of However, the overall prevalence of bovine fasciolosis
them were females which showed 70.6% prevalence of fasciolosis. observed in this study area is much lower than that of reported
There is significant statistical association between sex of cattle’s at northwestern part of Ethiopia (90.65%) by [20]. Difference in
and bovine fasciolosis (Table 1). prevalence among geographical locations is attributed mainly to the
variation in the climatic and ecological conditions such as altitude,
In the present study the prevalence of fasciolosis was found
rainfall and temperature. Besides increase use of government
to be higher in cattle with poor body condition than those with
and private sector veterinary clinic and increased usage of broad
good body condition ones with prevalence of 66.5% and 37.5%
spectrum anthelmintic drug in the study area. The result of present
respectively. The difference in the prevalence in the two categories
study showed that age has no significant effect on the prevalence
in body condition score was statistically significant (p<0.05).
of bovine fasciolosis in the study area. This agrees with study done
No of ani- No of ani- in Debre Zeit, Ethiopia [19]. However, this contradicts with study
Preva-
mals mals posi- P-value done at Nekemte municipal abattoir [18].
lence (%)
examined tive
The result of present study revealed that the sex of the ani-
Age mal has significant effect (p < 0.05) on the occurrence of bovine
<2 years 49 30 61.2 P=0.407960 fasciolosis in the study area which is female has greater chance
of affected by bovine fasciolosis than male i.e 142(70.6%)and
2-4 years 150 76 50.6 - 66(36.06%) respectively. This study result agrees with the re-
4 years 185 102 55.1 - port of Dangila District, Awi Administration Zone, Northwestern
Ethiopia [20], Gondar abattoir and Debre Zeit, Ethiopia [19] who
Sex report that females are affected by fasciolosis than male animals.
Male 183 66 36.06 0.005 This might be due to female animals had spent most of their time

3 Volume 2018; Issue 01

Citation: Mohammed C, Nigussie L, Dugasa J, Seid U (2018) Prevalence of Bovine Fasciolosis and its Associated Risk Factors in Eastern Shoa, Kuyu District Central
Ethiopia. Arch Vet Sci Technol: AVST-140. DOI: 10.29011/AVST-140. 100040

on grazing the pasture, so that they had higher chance of getting study participants for their collaboration, enthusiasm and willing-
infection, besides the stress due to pregnancy and lactation. This ness to share us information.
result was not agreed with the report of [10] that, fasciolosis was
not a disease directly related to sex of the animal and this result Competing Interest
contradicts with the study done in Mecha District, West Gojam We declare that we have no any personal interest that inap-
Zone, and Northwestern Ethiopia [16] and at Nekemte municipal propriately influences writing this article.
abattoir who report opposite results. The deference may be due to
sampling procedures. References
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Citation: Mohammed C, Nigussie L, Dugasa J, Seid U (2018) Prevalence of Bovine Fasciolosis and its Associated Risk Factors in Eastern Shoa, Kuyu District Central
Ethiopia. Arch Vet Sci Technol: AVST-140. DOI: 10.29011/AVST-140. 100040

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