The impact of socio-cultural factors on transmission of Taenia spp. and Echinococcus granulosus in Kosovo

Alishani, Mentor; Sherifi, K; Rexhepi, A; Hamidi, A; Armua-Fernandez, M T; Grimm, Felix; Hegglin, D; Deplazes, Peter

doi:10.1017/S0031182017000750

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Alishani, M., Sherifi, K., Rexhepi, A., Hamidi, A., Armua-Fernandez, M. T., Grimm, F., Hegglin, D., & Deplazes, P. (2017). The impact of socio-cultural factors on transmission of Taenia spp. and Echinococcus granulosus in Kosovo. Parasitology, 144(13), 1736–1742. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0031182017000750

Abstract

Echinococcus granulosus sensu latu (s.l.) and Taenia hydatigena are common parasites of ruminant intermediate hosts in the Balkans. Transmission is linked mainly to home slaughtering and the feeding of infected organs to dogs. In Kosovo, many old sheep are slaughtered particularly during Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice). To determine whether this tradition could affect parasite transmission, we compared the probability of 504 dogs to contract taenid infections after deworming during one period before Eid al-Adha and a similar period b