ORIGINAL_ARTICLE Cystic echinococcosis is a cosmopolitan zoonotic infection, commonly seen in areas where livestock and dogs are kept together. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of echinococcosis in slaughtered cattle and sheep in North Macedonia and to evaluate the location and fertility/sterility rates of the cysts. A total of 302 slaughtered animals were examined with visual inspection, palpation, and incision of the internal organs in order to detect cysts. Microscopic examination was carried out to determine the presence of protoscoleces. The overall prevalence of echinococcosis in slaughtered cattle and sheep was 60%. The presence of cysts increased with age in cattle. In both cattle and sheep, the most common affected organs were the liver and lungs infected with more than one cyst. The findings showed higher fertility rate in sheep which confirmed their role as the most important intermediate host. This study shows that North Macedonia is an endemic region, and serious control strategies should be implemented, with special emphasis on safety disposal of infected organs and anthelmintic treatment of the dogs. https://macvetrev.mk/Files/Article/2022/10.2478/macvetrev-2022-0011/macvetrev-2022-0011.pdf 2022-03-15T09:00:00 35 41 10.2478/macvetrev-2022-0011 Echinococcosis North Macedonia cattle sheep prevalence Ljubica Rashikj false 1 Veterinary Institute, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine - Skopje, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Lazar Pop-Trajkov 5-7, 1000 Skopje, North Macedonia AUTHOR Aleksandar Cvetkovikj acvetkovic@fvm.ukim.edu.mk false 2 Veterinary Institute, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine - Skopje, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Lazar Pop-Trajkov 5-7, 1000 Skopje, North Macedonia LEAD_AUTHOR Martin Nikolovski false 3 Institute for Reproduction and Biomedicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine - Skopje, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Lazar Pop-Trajkov 5-7, 1000 Skopje, North Macedonia AUTHOR Iskra Cvetkovikj false 4 Veterinary Institute, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine - Skopje, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Lazar Pop-Trajkov 5-7, 1000 Skopje, North Macedonia AUTHOR Jovana Stefanovska false 5 Veterinary Institute, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine - Skopje, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Lazar Pop-Trajkov 5-7, 1000 Skopje, North Macedonia AUTHOR Otero-Abad, B., Torgerson, P.R. (2013). A systematic review of the epidemiology of echinococcosis in domestic and wild animals. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 7(6): e2249. PMid:23755310 PMCid:PMC3674998 1 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002249 Budke, C.M., Casulli, A., Kern, P., Vuitton, D.A. (2017). Cystic and alveolar echinococcosis: Successes and continuing challenges. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 11(4): e0005477. 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