The prevalence of Linguatula serrata nymphs in camels slaughtered in Mashhad slaughterhouse,Northeast,Iran

Objective:To evaluate the prevalence of nymphal stages of L serrata in mesenteric lymph nodes of camels slaughtered in Mashhad slaughterhouse,Northeast of Iran.Methods:For this purpose, mesenteric lymph nodes of 400 camels of different sex and age were examined.The lymph nodes were examined macroscopically and a digestion method was also applied for investigation of samples which was negative macroscopically.Results:The mesenteric lymph nodes of 73 camels out of 400(18.25%) were infected by L serrata nymphs.Conclusions:Prevalence of L. serrata nymphs in males and females and different age was not significantly different(P>0.05), but difference was observed between the prevalence in different seasons(P< 0.05).The potential importance of these findings to human health is discussed.This is the first report of infection with L serrate of camels in camels slaughtered at northeast of Iran.