Parasitic causes of organ condemnation in cattle slaughtered in Fako abattoirs, South-West region of Cameroon, and estimate of financial losses.

An abattoir study was carried out between May and October 2016 to determine the parasitic causes of organ condemnation during meat inspection and to evaluate the attendant financial losses in Fako abattoirs, in the South-West region of Cameroon. Organs (liver, lungs, heart, tongue, kidney, spleen and intestine) were examined at meat inspection following standard procedures and the financial loss was estimated by considering the total weight of condemned organs and the price per kilogram of marketable organs, obtained from the local market. The organs of 1472 cattle were examined, of which 357 (24.38%) were condemned. The organs condemned because of parasitic infestations were the liver (333) and small intestine (24), and the infections were caused by flukes of Fasciola sp. and proglottids of Moniezia sp., respectively. Hydatid cysts and cysticerci were absent. The prevalence of fasciolosis and monieziosis was 22.62% and 1.63%, respectively. Condemnation deprived the region of 665.457 kg of meat, with an associated financial loss of CFA 1,330,902 (USD 2505), during the study period. Parasitic diseases worsen the food insecurity situation as they result in the withdrawal of a considerable amount of meat from the food chain. Fasciolosis, the leading parasitic cause of meat condemnation in Fako, is also zoonotic. It is therefore important that effective control measures are implemented countrywide against this parasitosis.