Pathology and prevalence of hepatic lesions of Azeri buffaloes (bubalus bubalis) slaughtered at Urmia Abattoir, Northwest Iran

This study was carried out for the evaluation of the prevalence rate and the pathology of various lesions in the confiscated livers of slaughtered Azeri buffaloes at Urmia Abattoir, Northwest Iran. Livers of 306 Azeri buffaloes were inspected grossly during five months according to their color and consistency changes in Urmia Abattoir. Among the inspected carcasses, livers of 28 buffaloes had various lesions. The collected tissue samples of confiscated livers were placed in 10% buffered formalin as a fixative solution in order to prepare pathologic sections with a thickness of 6 μm. The sections were stained by haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and periodic acid schiff (PAS) methods. The most common pathologic changes in the confiscated buffalo livers were fatty change (46.4%), hepatitis and cholangitis (42.9%), and bile duct hyperplasia (39.3%) respectively. The results of this study have shown that there was a significant difference (p<0.05) between hepatic congestion and sex. In addition, there was no significant difference (p>0.05) between hepatic lesions and age. The results of this study have revealed that fascioliasis has an important role in the creation of some hepatic lesions such as bile duct hyperplasia, fatty change, and hepatitis in buffaloes. Since various hepatic lesions can reduce buffalo productions and has negative influence on animal reproduction, it is necessary to pay more attention to accurate performing of antiparasitic program and the evaluation of possible role of poisonous plants, heavy metals, and mycotoxins in the generation of hepatic lesions of buffaloes.