Occurence of Liverfluke (Fasciola spp.) Infestation on Slaughtered Cattle of Brooke's Point, Puerto Princesa City, Rio Tuba, and Sofronio Española, Palawan Abattoirs

Abstract

Cattle slaughtered at the different abattoirs of Palawan were sampled and examined for presence of liverflukes. The percentage of slaughtered cattle infested with liverflukes and the degree of infestation were also determined. The abattoirs that served as source of slaughtered cattle were the following: Brooke's Point (from September to October 2006); Puerto Princesa City (from February to March 2006), Rio Tuba (from November to December 2006) and Sofronio Española (from January to March 2008).

All cattle at the holding pens of various abattoirs were subjected to ante-mortem inspection while their livers were subjected to post- mortem examinations.

Results showed that of the 211 cattle examined, 6.64 % were infested with the worms. 93.36 % are free from liverflukes. Nine out of 14 (64.3%) and 5 (35.7%) cattle infected with liverflukes came from Sofronio Española and Brooke's Point, respectively.