Bangl. J. Vet. Med. (2010). 8(1): 35 – 40 PATHOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF LIVER FLUKE INFECTION OF SLAUGHTERED BLACK BENGAL GOAT IN A SELECTED AREA OF BANGLADESH S. Talukder 1 *, M. J. Bhuiyan 2 , M. M. Hossain 3 , M. M. Uddin 4 , S. Paul 3 and M. M. R. Howlader 5 1 Public Relation & Publication Section, 2 Department of Pathology and Parasitology, 3 Department of Medicine and Surgery, 5 Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary & Animal Science, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet, 4 Department of Anatomy and Histology, Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chittagong ABSTRACT This study was conducted in Sylhet district of Bangladesh to investigate the pathological effect of liver fluke in Black Bengal goats of different age groups, sex and in seasons. In this study, livers of male and female goats were collected randomly from slaughter house during a period of 1 (one) year (November, 2007 to October, 2008). A total of 325 Black Bengal goat livers were examined, of which 70 livers were found infected with Fasciola gigantica. The common histopathological changes found in this study were the migratory tract with lymphocytic infiltration, atrophy, necrosis and fatty changes in the liver. The study revealed that age of the animal has significant effect on Fascioliasis in goats. Significantly (P<0.01) highest infection rate was found in 2-2.5 years old animals (50%). The sex of the animal was also found as important determinants for Fascioliasis. In this study out of 219 male goat livers 30 (13.70%) were infected with Fasciola. On the other hand, out of 106 female goat livers, 40 (37.73%) were found positive with Fascioliasis. The data of origin of animals also collected which was not statistically significant. Keywords: Pathology, liver fluke, Black Bengal Goat INTRODUCTION Parasitism is one of the main causes limiting livestock productions in most of the tropical and sub-tropical countries of the world. In Bangladesh, parasitism has been considered as one of the major constraints of livestock production (Jabbar & Hag, 1983). The incidence of parasitic diseases in the domestic ruminants of Bangladesh is also high and as a result hardly any livestock industry could develop here. There are about 38.1 million small ruminants (goat and sheep) in Bangladesh (FAO, 2005) which plays an important role in the rural economy and earn substantial amount of foreign currency by exporting skins and other by-products (Kamaruddin, 2003). Besides a large number of helminth parasites these are constantly deteriorating the health and productivity of the ruminants, Fasciola gigantica is by far the pre-dominant species of outstanding importance. The pathogenic effect of this parasite is extended over a large number of domestic ruminants; cattle, sheep, goats and buffaloes are mostly affected and drain a substantial economic loss to the country annually. Infection with Fasciola gigantica is regarded as one of the most common single helminth infection of ruminants in Asia and Africa (Hammond & Sewell 1990). This disease causes enormous economic losses all over the world and these losses are due to reduction in milk and meat production, condemnation of liver, loss of draught power, reproductive failure and mortality (Diaw et al., 1998). Recently, worldwide losses in animal productivity due to Fascioliasis were conservatively estimated at over US $ 3.2 billion per annum. In addition, Fascioliasis is now recognized as an emerging human disease. The World Health Organization (WHO, 2006) has estimated that 2.4 million people are infected with Fasciola hepatica and a further 180 million are at risk of infection. The overall prevalence of Fasciola gigantica in goats with gross and histopathological changes in the liver and also its relationship with age, sex and seasons has been described in this paper. So, for controlling the disease in this area, appropriate preventive control strategies have to be designed to reduce the impact of the disease on goat production in Bangladesh. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was carried out in the Laboratory under the Department of Pathology & Parasitology, Sylhet Agricultural University (SAU) and Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (CVASU) from November 2007 to October 2008. Data were collected from 86 butchers in Sylhet metropolitan area. After collection of the liver samples of goats, they were examined in the Laboratory. In this study, livers of both sexes ___________ *Corresponding author: e-mail: sumantalukder@ymail.com Copyright © 2010 Bangladesh Society for Veterinary Medicine All rights reserved 1729-7893/0198/10