SHORT COMMUNICATION Hypodermosis in cattle slaughtered in Nigde province, Turkey * Mustafa Karatepe & Bilge Karatepe Accepted: 20 November 2007 / Published online: 5 December 2007 # Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2007 Abstract This study was carried out to investigate the prevalence of hypodermosis in cattle between January and June 2005 in Nigde province, which is located in the middle of Turkey. A total of 1336 cattle, which were slaughtered in Nigde, were investigated for Hypoderma larvae. The 68 out of 1336 cattle (%5.08) were found positive for Hypo- derma larvae. A total of 536 Hypoderma larvae were found in the skin and subcutaneous tissue of the back of infested cattle. The 489 out of 536 larvae (%91.23) were identified as Hypoderma bovis and 47 out of 536 (%8.77) as H. lineatum. Number of Hypoderma larvae counted on single infested cattle varied between 1–45 and the mean number of Hypoderma larvae per cattle was 7.88 (536/68). Hypodermosis was recorded for the first time in cattle from Nigde. Keywords Cattle . Hypodermosis . Hypoderma bovis . Hypoderma lineatum . Turkey Introduction Bovine hypodermosis is a myiasis caused by larvae of Hypoderma bovis and H. lineatum (Diptera, Oestridae) and is characterised by the presence of warbles under the skin of infested animals (Zumpt 1965). Hypoder- mosis is economically important parasitic disease in cattle in the Northern Hemisphere. This parasitic disease leads to a fall in milk production, is a cause of weight lose in cattle and damages hide quality. In addition, since female flies disturb cattle when grazing, a decrease in productivity occurs (Zumpt 1965; Schmidt and Roberts 1989; Kettle 1992; Catts and Mullen 2002). The studies on hypodermosis in Turkey have shown that two species of Hypoderma (H. bovis and H. lineatum) exist in cattle (Dincer 1997). In researches carried out to find out prevalence of hypodermosis in various parts of Turkey, cattle were found positive for H. bovis and H. lineatum between 1.9–68% (Zeybek 1988; El-Metenawy and Zayed 1992). It was reported that H. bovis was much more common than H. lineatum in Turkey (Merdivenci 1963; Mimioglu 1966, Sayin and Meric 1976). The aim of this study is to determine the presence and dissemination of cattle hypodermosis in Nigde during the infection season. Materials and methods Study area This study was conducted on cattle in Nigde province, located in the middle of Turkey (with an altitude of 1240 m, 37° 58′ N longitude-34°41′ E latitude), Trop Anim Health Prod (2008) 40:383–386 DOI 10.1007/s11250-007-9114-1 * This study was supported by the Scientific Research Projects Unit of Nigde University (FEB 2004/07). M. Karatepe (*) : B. Karatepe Bor Higher School for Business, Nigde University, 51700 Bor-Nigde, Turkey e-mail: mkaratepe@nigde.edu.tr