Prevalence and economic importance of Coenurus Cerebralis in sheep and goats in and around “Legahida” district of bale zone, south eastern Ethiopia

Coenurosis is a disease caused by Coenurus cerebralis, the larval stage of Taenia multiceps, particularly affecting sheep and goats. T. serialis and T. brauni could also cause coenurosis. The final hosts are domestic and wild canidae. Cross sectional study was conducted from November 2014 to March 2015 to estimate the prevalence and associated risk factors of Coenurus cerebralis in both sheep and goats in Legahida backyard slabs. The estimation of its economic burden and assessment of knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of the pastoral and agro-pastoral communities were also performed for which questionnaire survey was used. A total of 412 sheep and goats were examined for C. cerebralis cysts. From this, 52 (12.6%) (95% CI 9.4, 15.8) of them were positive for T.multiceps cyst/s in one or different parts of the brain. The cyst numbers in the brains varied from 1 to 5. The prevalence in sheep is statistically significantly different compared to that in the goats (P = 0.003). The prevalence according to age groups (categorized as less than 2 years, 2 to 4 years, and older than 4 years) was found statistically highly significantly different (P = 0.000). Cysts were more recovered from the cerebrum (88.4%), followed by cerebellum (10.5%), and median fissure (1.16%). Non parametric correlation analysis between pathognomonic clinical sign and cyst recovery from the brain is very high correlation coefficient (CC = 0.956). Clinical disease and cyst location are also highly positively correlated with the coefficient of (CC = 0.826) left hemisphere and 0.802 right hemisphere. The size of the cyst is positively correlated with clinical disease (CC = 0.797). The questionnaire data revealed that (72%) of the respondents own dogs, and deworming practice is very small (92% are not practicing). 47.4% of total respondents complained dog feces as the cause of the disease. The monetary losses from mortality during last year was estimated to be 398,250 ETB (19,432.61US$) whereas average monetary losses from esthetic value of 50 clinically diseased animals was about 17,500 ETB; wage loss from treatment seeking, loss from treatment costs, and indirect losses from poor carcass weight were 1250, 3120, and 65,318.4 birr, respectively. These monetary loss totals to the sum of 485,438.4 ETB ($23679.92) per year at “Legahida”district. Thus, the study revealed that C. cerebralis is economically important disease of sheep and goats in and around Legahida district, and effective control measures must be taken.