A change in the epidemiology of bovine cysticercosis in israel between 1973 and 2008 due to import of live cattle

Summary: Bovine cysticercosis (BC) is an important disease because of its zoonotic nature. There is a significant variation in the prevalence of BC in different countries, ranging from <0.01% to more than 20%. In this study, we followed the changes of BC prevalence in Israel during the last four decades and examined its association with import of live cattle. During 1973-2007, 629549 cattle were subjected to post-mortem inspection conducted in 'Marbek' slaughterhouse located in the south of Israel. A specific comparison was made between the prevalence of BC in local and imported cattle during 2003-2007. Of 629549 cattle, 2568 were infected with Cysticercus bovis (0.4%). From 1980, there was a gradual decrease in the prevalence of BC (R²=0.53) with exceptional peaks. Moreover, from 1973 to 1998, only 4% of the documented cases appeared in outbreaks as opposed to 38% after 1998 when mass importation of live cattle to Israel was initiated. All of these late outbreak cases appeared in imported cattle of which 95% originated from Australia. During the years 2002-2007, importation from Australia was found as a significant risk factor for infection with BC, with prevalence in these cattle reaching 1.8% in 2006. The time from importation to BC detection suggests that infection occurred either in Australia or during the transport into Israel. We conclude that despite a reduction in the prevalence of BC as a result of a possible improvement in sanitary conditions at the farms, meticulous meat inspection is still essential in Israel and possibly in other developed countries exporting and importing live cattle.