VETERINARY MEDICINE Open Journal ISSN 2475-1286 Tuge Temesgen, DVM * Wolaita Sodo University, School Of Veterinary Medicine, SNNP Region, Ethiopia * Corresponding author Tuge Temesgen, DVM Wolaita Sodo University, School of Veterinary Medicine, SNNP Region, Ethiopia; E-mail: kassahunayana@gmail.com Article information Received: September 18 th , 2020; Revised: October 1 st , 2020; Accepted: October 27 th , 2020; Published: November 18 th , 2020 Prevalence and Economic Significance of Hydatidosis on Cattle Slaughtered at Nekemte Municipal Abattoir, Western Ethiopia Original Research Cite this article Temesgen T. Prevalence and economic significance of hydatidosis on cattle slaughtered at Nekemte municipal abattoir, Western Ethiopia. Vet Med Open J. 2020; 5(3): 57-63. doi: 10.17140/VMOJ-5-150 Copyright 2020 by Temesgen T. This is an open-access article distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which allows to copy, redistribute, remix, transform, and reproduce in any medium or format, even commercially, provided the original work is properly cited. 57 Original Research | Volume 5 | Issue 3 | cc INTRODUCTION E thiopia have an estimated livestock population of approxi- mately 49.3 million cattle, 25.02 million sheep, 27.88 million goats, 8.41 million equines, 1.06 million camels, 20,000 pigs, and 58 million chickens, which stands first in Africa and tenth in the world. 1 In the country, cattle are important source of income for rural communities and are one of the nation’s major sources of foreign currency from export. However, this great potential is not properly exploited. This is because of endemic disease burdens, traditional management system, inferior genetic makeup coupled with malnutrition and absence of well-developed market infra- ABSTRACT Aim The study was conducted to determine the prevalence of hydatidosis, to identify the association between expected risk factors and occurrence of the disease, to investigate economic importance and to evaluate fertility and viability of the hydatid cyst in cattle slaughtered at the abattoir. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional study, which involves both ante-mortem and post-mortem examination, was conducted at Nekemte municipal abattoir from November 2015 to March 2016. Results A total of 355 local cattle breed was randomly sampled and examined for the presence of hydatid cysts in the organs of the ani- mals using the standard meat inspection procedures, 66 (18.6%) animals were found harboring hydatid cysts. Statistical analysis showed that there was a significant difference (p<0.05) between the prevalence of bovine hydatidosis in all risk factors with excep- tion of sex of the animals. Among 207 hydatid cysts recorded, 93 (44.92%) were from lungs, 65 (31.40%) from livers, 4 (1.93%) from heart, 3 (1.44%) from kidney, 1 (0.48%) from spleen and 41 (19.8%) were in two organs from lung and liver. Fifty-seven (57) of these 207 cysts were randomly selected and subjected to fertility and viability test which revealed 19 (33.33%) as fertile, 25 (43.86 %) sterile and 13 (22.81%) calcified. Viability test proved 7 (12.28%) of 19 fertile cysts as viable and 12 (21.05%) of 19 fertile cysts as non-viable. Viability of cysts in different organs revealed that 5 (16.1%) and 2 (10%) of cysts from lungs and liver, respectively. The estimated financial loss during the study period both due to condemnation of organs and an in direct carcass weight loss from hydatidosis was 2,190,143.52 ETB. Conclusion The results of this study revealed that bovine hydatidosis was an economically important disease of cattle which need serious attention for prevention and control actions in and around Nekemte. Hence, establishment of well-equipped standardized abat- toirs, prohibition of backyard slaughter, creation of public awareness, deworming and control of stray dogs are of paramount importance. Keywords Abattoir; Cattle; Economic loss; Hydatidosis; Nekemte; Prevalence.