title: The proportion of liver excised in Algerian abattoirs is not a good indicator of Fasciola hepatica infections in local cattle breeds.
abstract: Clinical and serological investigations on 175 cattle were carried out in 1999 at the slaughterhouse of Jijel, northeastern Algeria, to verify if partial ablation of a liver infected with Fasciola hepatica represents a good epidemiological indicator in the case of fasciolosis, as partial excision of the liver is widespread throughout North African countries. This study was also performed to determine if there is a direct relationship between the quantity of liver confiscated for fasciolosis and the serological response of slaughtered animals. A significant relationship between highly infected livers and positive serological titres was noted. However, two groups of results were conflicting: the presence of macroscopically healthy, undamaged livers with a positive serology (8.3% of 120 cattle), or the existence of highly damaged livers with a negative serology (13.0% of 31 cattle). These results indicate that partial removal of the liver in the case of fasciolosis is unreliable, so this method does not represent a good tool to establish epidemiological data on this disease.
authors.affiliation: Département des Sciences Vétérinaires, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Constantine, 25000 Constantine, Algeria.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mekroud
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Titi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Benakhla
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rondelaud
mesh_terms: D000003:Abattoirs; D000462:Algeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D000818:Animals; D000909:Antibodies, Helminth / Q000097:blood; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005211:Fascioliasis / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008099:Liver / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D015995:Prevalence
chemical_list: D000909:Antibodies, Helminth