Hepatic dicrocoeliasis in beef cattle slaughtered at Abu-Simbel Abattoir. First slaughter house record in Egypt.

Dicrocoelium dendriticum , the small liver fluke, is capable of parasitizing the gall bladder and liver of various mammalian species, especially ruminants. In Egypt, there was no previous abattoir-based research concerned with the incidence of dicrocoeliasis. The objective of our study is to record hepatic dicrocoeliasis in imported beef cattle of Sudanese origin that were slaughtered at Abu-Simbel abattoir, Aswan Governorate, Egypt and describe the detailed hepatic gross as well as histopathological changes induced by it. During a period from December 2020 to October 2021, 1575 liver specimens were examined from which 172 cases showed gross pathological lesions. After collection, affected specimens were fixed in 10% neutral buffer formalin, then they were prepared for histopathological examination. The recorded incidence of hepatic dicrocoeliasis was 7.5% among the affected cases. The affected liver showed fibrosis and paleness with irregular yellowish foci on its surface. Fibrous tissue proliferation was seen surrounding bile ducts. Histopathologically, parasitic eggs were detected in affected liver tissues where they stimulated a granulomatous inflammatory reaction with hepatocellular necrosis and infiltrations of neutrophils, eosinophils and giant cells. Portal fibrosis resulted in the formation of pseudolobules. As a consequence, hepatic dicrocoeliasis is prevalent in imported Sudanese beef cattle and these animals should be protected from snail-infected regions and subjected to careful inspection by veterinarians in slaughterhouses.