An Epidemiological Survey of Setaria in the Abdominal Cavities of Iranian Sistani and Brahman Cattle in the Southeastern of Iran

Background: in this experiment, abdominal cavity of 518 iranian sistani cattle and 498 brahman cattle were inspected for the presence of setaria spp. from april 2012 - may 2013. methods: the species were determined by microscopic examination of the morphological characteristics of the anterior and posterior parts of the parasites and authentic guidelines. results: the overall prevalence of setaria spp. was 28.6% and 36.5%, respectively and this difference was significant (p<0.05). out of 148 sistani cattle which were infected with setaria, 51(34.4%) were infected with s. digitata, 31 (20.9%) were infected with s. labiatopapillosa, 65 (43.9%) showed mixed infection of s. digitata and s. labiatopapillosa and one case (0.6%) was infected with mixed infection of s. labiatopapillosa, s. digitata and s. marshalli. these values were 87 (47.8%), 27 (14.8%), 67 (36.8%) and 1 (0.5%) for 182 infected brahaman cows, respectively. the proportion of infected cattle in spring and summer was greater than cooler season (autumn and winter) significantly (p<0.001). the prevalence of infection with setaria in 2-3 years old sistatni cattle (42.2 %) was greater than other age categories (p<0.05). furthermore, the infection rate between males (25.5%) and females (37.3%) iranian sistani cattle showed significant difference (p =0.009). conclusion: it is important to point out the presence of cerebrospinal setariosis, namely in sheep, goats and horses in the investigated area.