Endoparasitic Worms in Pigs and Cows Butchered at Merila Abattoir and in Pigs Sold in Three Lechon Outlets in Iligan City

Abstract

Parasitic nematodes, trematodes and cestodes were found in the gastro-intestinal organs and liver of pigs and cows butchered in Merila Abattoir and in the intestines of pigs sold in three lechon outlets in lligan City. Adult worms and ova of nematodes such Ascaris suum; Trichuris suis and an unidentified hookworm were found in the intestines of pigs. Fasciola hepatica was the only fluke detected in cow liver samples while roundworms such as Oesophagostomum, Chabertia and an unidentified juvenile form of an ascarid were found in pig liver samples. Gastro-intestinal organs of cows revealed four kinds ofhelminths, namely: Haemonchus, Paramphistomum, Taenia saginata and an unidentified nematode. Notes on the pathogenicity of these worms and the possibility of these as causative agents of zoonoses are also included in the study.