Prevalence and Intensity of Fasciola spp. Infection in Slaughtered Livestock in the Hamadan Slaughterhouse in 2015

Fasciola is a zoonotic helminth. The study of Fasciola spp. distribution seems necessary for implementation of control programs in endemic areas. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence and intensity of Fasciola spp. in the slaughtered livestock of Hamadan slaughterhouse.
This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed in 2015. A total of 13607 slaughtered livestock were inspected and Fasciola infected livers were collected and transferred to the Parasitology Laboratory of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences. Finally, the prevalence rate and intensity of the Fasciola spp. were determined and data were analyzed using the Chi-square test with the SPSS software.
From the 13607 studied livestock, 10846 were sheep, 995 were cattle and 1766 were goats. The overall prevalence of the infection was 0.74%. The prevalence of cattle infection to Fasciola spp. was 1.5%, followed by goats 1.4% and sheep 0.5%. The intensity of infection in cattle was 22.07 ± 26.13, in goats was 17.32 ± 15.22 and in the sheep was 7.62 ± 11.29.
The prevalence of Fasciola in Hamadan is lower than that of the previous study in this area and some studies in the country, but the intensity of infection is high. The present study showed a relatively low enzootic of animal fasciolosis in Hamadan Province. Therefore, because the human fascioliasis has been recognized as an endemic problem in the neighboring provinces, a comprehensive community-based research should be planned to identify the situation of the disease in human population in this region.