Occurrence of liver abscesses and identification of bacterial etiology in cattle carcasses of Tabriz abattoir

The aim of this survey was to determine the occurrence of liver abscesses and identification of associated bacterial etiology in cattle carcasses of Tabriz industrial abattoir. A total of 355 cattle carcasses were inspected for the presence of liver abscesses. In the case of liver abscess presence, some characteristics of the carcasses were recorded; such as cattle’s age, gender, pregnancy and also abscesses’ characteristics (i.e., number, size and location of abscesses on liver). Abscesses as whole, were sampled and kept cold until microbiological examinations. Microbial analysis was performed on samples and cultures were incubated at aerobic, anaerobic and microaerophilic atmospheres. From 355 cattle carcasses, liver abscess was found in 28 (7.8%). Among positive results, 22 (78.57%) of livers had only 1, while 6 (21.42%) had 2 or more abscesses. Fusobacterium necrophorum was isolated from 15 53.57%) and Arcanobacterium pyogenes from 10 (35.71%) of abscesses. According to the results ofthis study, Fusobacterium necrophorum was found as the most frequent bacterial causative agent of cattle liver abscess in Tabriz industrial abattoir, while Arcanobacterium pyogenes was considered as the second most frequent agent.