Abstract:
This study was conducted on 332 sheep slaughtered at Al-sabaloga abattoir, West Omdurman, Khartoum State, Sudan, during the period extended from December2014 to February 2015. The objectiveswere to estimate the prevalence of hydatid cysts in sheep and to investigate risk factors associated with the disease. Routine meat inspection procedure was employed to detect the presence of hydatid cysts in visceral organs (liver, lung, heart and muscle).The Examined sheep originated from three areas: North Kordofan, and White Nile. The overall prevalence was 2.8% . The prevalence of hydatid cysts infection according to age of sheep was 0.64% in animals equal or less than one years of age and 4.49% in animals of age more than one year. The prevalence of hydatid cysts infection according to grazing was 2.04% in close grazing and was 2.82% in open grazing systems .The distribution of the hydatid cysts according to the area (source) of sheep was 2.05% in North Kordofan, and 3.22% in White Nile. As for body condition the prevalence was 2.76% in good body condition and 0.0% in poor body condition. The prevalence of hydatidosis according to the breed of animals was 3.12% in Hamary ecotype and 2.14% in Kabashy breed. The distribution of the hydatid cysts according to the using of treatment was 0.43% in animals which were using drugs and was 7.69% in animals which were not using drugs . The prevalence of hydatid cysts infection according to the present of dogs was3.84% in area where dogs were present and was 1.70% in area where dogs were not present. The results of the univariate analysis by using the Chi-square for the following potential risk factors were : breed (P-value = 0.586), age of animal (p-value = 0.031), origin of animal (P-value = 0.514), body condition (p-value = 0.680), grazing (p-value =0.754), present of dog (p-value =0.230), and use of treatment (p-value =0.000) . The use of treatment of animals was found to be significantly associated with hydatidosis (p-value =0.000).
Using multivariate analysis to determine possible significant association between hydatidosis and potential risk factors, the result showed that there was no significant association with any of the investigated risk factors.
