Cysticercus bovis in slaughtered cattle in upper Egypt: implications for food safety

Bovine cysticercosis is regarded as an essential food safety concern, causing human taeniasis, as well as a significant economic worry, as infected carcasses are condemned, frozen, and downgraded. It is caused by Cysticercus bovis (C. bovis), which is the larval stage of Taenia saginata that inhabits the small intestine of man. In the two-host life cycle, humans are the definitive hosts, and cattle are the intermediate hosts. Therefore, the current research aims to study the prevalence of C. bovis in slaughtered cattle in Aswan province, Upper Egypt, by using both macroscopic and molecular techniques.

A cross-sectional study on C. Bovis in slaughtered cattle was conducted from July 2023 to April 2024 at several central slaughterhouses (Edfu, Kom Ombo, Daraw, Aswan, and Abu Simbel) in Aswan province, Egypt, to ascertain the prevalence of C. bovis in 47,763 slaughtered cattle through routine daily antemortem and postmortem inspections; histopathological inspection and molecular analysis were implemented to verify the findings.

Out of 47,763 slaughtered cattle, 1,083 (2.27%) have macroscopic C. bovis cysts. The infection rates in local and imported cattle were 1.94% (203/10438) and 2.36% (880/37325), respectively. The prevalence of C. bovis infection was found to be significantly associated with the age, sex, and body condition of slaughtered cattle (p < 0.05). In the local breed, the heart had the highest occurrence of C. bovis (64%), whereas in the imported breed, the masseter muscles were the most susceptible to infection (92.00%). The histopathological analysis demonstrated that the deteriorated cysts were situated in regions of tissue coagulative necrosis, characterized by a wide range of inflammatory infiltrates and collagen fibers, particularly eosinophils and macrophages. In addition, the muscle fibers undergo degenerative changes, which may lead to the loss of normal muscle structure. The presence of the C. bovisHDP2 gene was demonstrated by the PCR analysis of C. bovis cyst samples, which showed positive diagnostic bands at 599 bp on gel electrophoresis.

Based on the findings in this study, the slaughtered cattle meant for human consumption in Aswan, Egypt, had C. bovis lesions restricted to one or a few organs. The study revealed that the spread of infection in these valuable organs in cattle has negative implications for food safety.

We strongly support the One Health strategy for preventing zoonotic pathogens from spreading to humans and preventing economic loss in cattle production.