Pulmonary lesions in slaughtered sheepin Western Iran: gross and histopathological findings.

This study was conducted with the objective of identifying the types of gross and histopathological lesions in lungs of sheep slaughtered between March 2013 to February 2014 at Kermanshah abattoir, west of Iran. A total of 1200 slaughtered sheep lungs was inspected during the study period. Pulmonary lesions were detected in 445 (37.08%) carcasses, grossly. Lesions were further subjected for detail histopathological examinations. On microscopic examination, most lungs had more than one type of lesions and thirteen different lesions were observed. The most common lesions were bronchopneumonia (13.33%), pulmonary emphysema (4.25%), hydatid cyst (4.16%), interstitial pneumonia (3.58%), abscess (3.33%), atelectasis (2.83), Pleurisy (1.66), bronchiectasis (1.41), verminous pneumonia (0.91%) and pulmonary adenomatosis (0.25%). The highest prevalence of pulmonary lesions was observed in the winter, which differences were significant in compared to other seasons (P=0.007). This study demonstrates that lung diseases and lesions represent a serious problem and may continue to be a drawback to livestock industry and may pose health risks to meat consumers from contrasting zoonotic diseases in western Iran. So designing of serious prevention and treatment programs are very important in our region.