Occurrence of Cysticercus bovis in Cattle Slaughtered at the Ibi Slaughter House, Ibi Local Government Area of Taraba State, Nigeria

This study was conducted to investigate the occurrence of Cysticercus bovis in cattle slaughtered at the Ibi slaughter house between January 2010 and December, 2012 using systematic veterinary inspection of carcasses. A total of 6007 carcasses were examined during the period of study with an overall prevalence of 4.8% (288/6007). Carcasses from male and female cattle represented 1.5% (89/6007) and 3.3% (199/6007) of the overall prevalence. There was a highly significant statistical difference between the male and female prevalence of bovine cysticercosis observed (P= 0.0001). The years 2010, 2011 and 2012 recorded prevalence rates of 1.5% (87/6007), 1.6% (98/6007) and 1.8% (105/6007) respectively which was highly statistically significant (P < 0.00001). Cattle between the age groups 1-3, > 3-6 and > 6 recorded prevalence rates of 0.53% (32/6007), 1.82% (109/6007) and 2.45% (147/6007) respectively. Prevalence of bovine cysticercosis in relation to management practices were 3.85% (231/6007) and 0.95% (57/6007) for nomadic and sedentary practices respectively. This difference was statistically insignificant (P > 0.05). The monthly distribution of Cysticercus bovis among carcasses was highest 0.62% (37/6007) in July, followed by 0.6% (36/6007) in September and the lowest prevalence of 0.21% (13/6007) was observed in January. This was highly statistically significant (P < 0.00001). The result of this study have shown the existence of Cysticercus bovis in beef carcasses processed at the Ibi slaughter house which is a possible public health risk in the study area.