Elbarbary Nady Khairy, Gareh Ahmed, Abdelhaseib Maha, Fotouh Ahmed, Abdelmotilib Neveen M, Ragab Mohammed Fathy, Dandrawy Mohamed K
Food Hygiene and Control Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aswan University, Aswan, 81528, Egypt.
Parasitology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aswan University, Aswan, 81528, Egypt.
BMC Vet Res. 2025 May 15;21(1):344. doi: 10.1186/s12917-025-04768-y.
Bovine cysticercosis is regarded as an essential food safety concern, causing human taeniasis, as well as a significant economic worry, as infected carcasses are condemned, frozen, and downgraded. It is caused by Cysticercus bovis (C. bovis), which is the larval stage of Taenia saginata that inhabits the small intestine of man. In the two-host life cycle, humans are the definitive hosts, and cattle are the intermediate hosts. Therefore, the current research aims to study the prevalence of C. bovis in slaughtered cattle in Aswan province, Upper Egypt, by using both macroscopic and molecular techniques.
A cross-sectional study on C. Bovis in slaughtered cattle was conducted from July 2023 to April 2024 at several central slaughterhouses (Edfu, Kom Ombo, Daraw, Aswan, and Abu Simbel) in Aswan province, Egypt, to ascertain the prevalence of C. bovis in 47,763 slaughtered cattle through routine daily antemortem and postmortem inspections; histopathological inspection and molecular analysis were implemented to verify the findings.
Out of 47,763 slaughtered cattle, 1,083 (2.27%) have macroscopic C. bovis cysts. The infection rates in local and imported cattle were 1.94% (203/10438) and 2.36% (880/37325), respectively. The prevalence of C. bovis infection was found to be significantly associated with the age, sex, and body condition of slaughtered cattle (p < 0.05). In the local breed, the heart had the highest occurrence of C. bovis (64%), whereas in the imported breed, the masseter muscles were the most susceptible to infection (92.00%). The histopathological analysis demonstrated that the deteriorated cysts were situated in regions of tissue coagulative necrosis, characterized by a wide range of inflammatory infiltrates and collagen fibers, particularly eosinophils and macrophages. In addition, the muscle fibers undergo degenerative changes, which may lead to the loss of normal muscle structure. The presence of the C. bovisHDP2 gene was demonstrated by the PCR analysis of C. bovis cyst samples, which showed positive diagnostic bands at 599 bp on gel electrophoresis.
Based on the findings in this study, the slaughtered cattle meant for human consumption in Aswan, Egypt, had C. bovis lesions restricted to one or a few organs. The study revealed that the spread of infection in these valuable organs in cattle has negative implications for food safety.
We strongly support the One Health strategy for preventing zoonotic pathogens from spreading to humans and preventing economic loss in cattle production.
牛囊尾蚴病被视为食品安全的重要问题，可导致人类绦虫病，同时也是一个重大的经济问题，因为受感染的胴体将被判定不合格、冷冻或降级处理。它由牛囊尾蚴（C. bovis）引起，牛囊尾蚴是寄生在人体小肠的牛带绦虫的幼虫阶段。在双宿主生命周期中，人类是终宿主，牛是中间宿主。因此，当前的研究旨在通过宏观和分子技术研究埃及上埃及阿斯旺省屠宰牛中牛囊尾蚴的流行情况。
2023年7月至2024年4月，在埃及阿斯旺省的几个中央屠宰场（埃德富、科姆翁布、达拉维、阿斯旺和阿布辛拜勒）对屠宰牛中的牛囊尾蚴进行了横断面研究，通过日常常规的宰前和宰后检查确定47763头屠宰牛中牛囊尾蚴的流行情况；实施组织病理学检查和分子分析以验证结果。
在47763头屠宰牛中，1083头（2.27%）有肉眼可见的牛囊尾蚴囊肿。本地牛和进口牛的感染率分别为1.94%（203/10438）和2.36%（880/37325）。发现牛囊尾蚴感染的流行率与屠宰牛的年龄、性别和身体状况显著相关（p < 0.05）。在本地品种中，心脏中牛囊尾蚴的发生率最高（64%），而在进口品种中，咬肌最易感染（92.00%）。组织病理学分析表明，退化的囊肿位于组织凝固性坏死区域，其特征是有广泛的炎症浸润和胶原纤维，特别是嗜酸性粒细胞和巨噬细胞。此外，肌纤维发生退行性变化，这可能导致正常肌肉结构丧失。通过对牛囊尾蚴囊肿样本的PCR分析证实了牛囊尾蚴HDP2基因的存在，在凝胶电泳上显示出599 bp的阳性诊断条带。
基于本研究的结果，埃及阿斯旺用于人类消费的屠宰牛中，牛囊尾蚴病变仅限于一个或几个器官。该研究表明，牛这些重要器官中的感染传播对食品安全有负面影响。
我们强烈支持“同一健康”战略，以防止人畜共患病原体传播给人类，并防止牛生产中的经济损失。
