Fasciola hepatica findings in cattle of Jablanica region
In the period from January 2001 to December 2005, a total of 6,904 slaughtered cattle originating from the territory of the region of Jablanica were examined at the Mesokombinat AD abattoir. The Trematoda Fasciola hepatica was found in 429 cattle (6.21%). A total of 2,150 kg livers were condemned due to the presence of the liver fluke. A comparison of cattle with bovine fasciolosis according to the years yielded a very significant difference (p<0.01) between the year 2003 (10.02) and the year 2002 (9.97), on the one side, in comparison with the years 2001 (5.14), 2004 (3.37), and 2005 (5.08), on the other side. A significant difference (p<0.05) was also established in the year 2004 (3.37) in comparison with the years 2001 (5.14) and 2005 (5.08). After analyzing the significance of the differences between the infected cattle according to the seasons, a very significant difference (p<0.01) was established between the summer (7.23) and the winter (4.74) periods. A significant difference (p<0.05) was also established between the autumn (6.49) and the winter periods. The amount of precipitation was directly proportionate to the percentage of cattle infected with fasciolosis.