title: Prevalence of cestode parasites in sheep slaughtered in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia.
abstract: Prevalence of tapeworm infections among sheep slaughtered in Riyadh City were studied from February 2007 to March 2008. A total of 76 out of 3300 sheep were infected with adult cestodes (2.3%). The highest infection rate was in autumn (8.1%), and the lowest one was in summer (1.7%). The cestodes were identified as Moniezia expansa (96.3%) and M. deuticulata (3.7%). Concerning seasonal dynamics of the worms, the highest number was recorded in October and November (13.5 & 8.3%), while the lowest one was in June and July (0.7 & 1.3%). The examination of muscle samples from rump, shoulders and thigh of 1001 sheep revealed Cysticercus ovis in 120 sheep (12%). The highest infection rate (17.5%) was in autumn, and the lowest one (6.2%) was in summer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Saleh Abdel-Rahman
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Al-Qureishy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002589:Cestoda / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002590:Cestode Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012621:Seasons; D012756:Sheep; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*