Objective: Evaluation of the accuracy of routine meat inspection in the detection of Cysticercus bovis in slaughtered cattle by examination of the hearts approved fit for human consumption.
Design: Descriptive study.
Animals: The hearts of 160 cattle slaughtered in the slaughter ¬house in Tehran and approved fit for human consumption. Procedure: To examine thoroughly each heart with naked eyes and their stained cross-sections under the microscope for C bovis and pathological changes respectively.
Results: Twenty nine out of 160 hearts examined, (18.5%) harboured alived (2) calcified (3) Chavis or other lesions (24) with unknown origin. The microscopical lesions were mostly granulomatose myocarditis accompanied by infiltration of inflammatory cells.
Conclusion: Based on the examination of hearts approved fit for human consumption, our finding revealed that routin meat inspection is unable to detect 100% infection with Cysticercus bovis. In slaughtered cattle thus, the real rate of prevalence of this metacestode in Iran is higher than the figures reported by different authors. This could cause some health hazarads. J. Fac. Vet. Med. Univ. Tehran. 57, 4: 23-25, 2002.
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