Prevalence and bacterial isolation from hydatid cysts in dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) slaughtered at Sharkia abattoirs, Egypt

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a severe neglected zoonotic parasitic disease caused by the larval stage of the dog tapeworm, Echinococcus granulosus. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of hydatid cysts in dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) at Sharkia province, Egypt and investigate the occurrence of bacteria in hydatid fluid. A total of 6416 dromedary camels slaughtered in five abattoirs in Sharkia province, Egypt during the period from January and December 2018 were investigated for the presence of hydatid cysts. Furthermore, the bacterial species in 10 hydatid fluid isolated from lungs and livers was identified. The current findings revealed that the prevalence of hydatid cysts was 3.7%. Among those, the infection rate in lungs was 78.2%, which was significantly higher than hepatic infections (21.8%). The prevalence of hydatid cysts was the highest in winter (7.4%) and the lowest in spring (1.5%). The most common bacterial species found inside hydatid fluid collected from lungs were Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus spp., Enterococci and Pseudomonas spp. Meanwhile, Staphylococcus spp. were isolated from hepatic hydatid fluid. In conclusion, hydatid cysts infection is prevalent in dromedary camels in Sharkia province, Egypt as well as various aerobic and anaerobic bacterial species were isolated from hydatid fluid from camel lungs and livers.