Prevalence and economic losses due to fasciolosis in cattle slaughtered under a municipal inspection regime in Itaperuna, Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

Liver disease known as "liver cheap" is a zoonotic disease, it is caused by the helminth fasciola hepatica. There are definitive hosts that are bovine, the parasite infects the liver of the bovine, and also the intermediate hosts that are lymnea snails, they shelter themselves in humid grazing and dams. Infected livers are condemned by the inspection service in the slaughterhouses, as they are considered unfit for human consumption, and thus entail great economic losses for the refrigerating industries. In the municipality of Itaperuna in the state of Rio de Janeiro, the focus of this study, there is a high prevalence of this disease. The average rate of occurrence of hepatic Fasciola in cattle slaughtered in the municipality from January 2017 to April 2018 was 15.4%. In this scenario, the objective of this study was to analyze and report the rates of condemnation of bovine livers due to hepatic fasciolosis in a refrigerator under municipal inspection service located in Itaperuna-RJ and to measure the economic losses caused by this parasite. With a result of a period of 14 months it obtained a loss of R $ 4,480.00. Emphasizing the importance of the dissemination of these data to raise awareness among producers about the prevention of this endemic disease in our region, such as deworming of animals and proper management of grazing.