Infection rates of Fasciola spp. in cattle slaughtered at 13 abattoirs in six of nine provinces of South Africa

Fasciolosis or liver fluke infection is a snail-borne disease that affects the productivity of domestic ruminants including liver condemnation especially in cattle. However, there is paucity of information on the burden of infection due to lack of accurate data on liver condemnation related to correct geographical origin of infected animals. This distorts perception of the geographical occurrence of fasciolosis, particularly in South Africa among other countries. We aimed to determine the infection rates of Fasciola spp. in cattle slaughtered at selected abattoirs in South Africa. A total of 13 abattoirs consisting of 10 high throughput and three low throughput abattoirs across six provinces, were visited to screen for liver fluke infection in slaughtered cattle including tracing of the animals' geographical origin. A total of 57 livers from 673 slaughtered cattle (8.5 %) from 10 abattoirs were infected with Fasciola spp.. The highest infection rate from the study sites was 37 % and the lowest 4.5 %. Tracing of infected cattle showed that some abattoirs slaughtered cattle originating from other provinces. Forty-nine percent (29/57) of infected cattle had moderate body condition score (BCS) and recorded the highest intensity of fluke infection (>100 flukes per liver). Furthermore, young animals had high infection rates (51 %; 29/57) compared to adults (49 %; 28/57) and females (54 %; 31/57) compared to males (46 %; 26/57). The overall results highlighted the presence of Fasciola spp. in five provinces of South Africa, represented by more than four agro-ecological zones. Fasciola hepatica occurred in all six provinces while both Fasciola spp. co-occurred in one province. Furthermore, F. hepatica constituted the highest percentage (74 %; 710/960) of Fasciola spp. specimens collected. Fasciola gigantica were collected from abattoirs in one province and constituted 26 % (250/960) of the total collected flukes. Results from the study provide information on the burden of fasciolosis in cattle. This is based on abattoir surveys in South Africa, considering the traced geographical origin of animals slaughtered. Using data from surveys of this nature might support efforts to map the geographical distribution of fasciolosis in South Africa. Thus, contribute towards the development of effective control and treatment programs of fasciolosis to mitigate the burden of the disease in cattle.