CYCLOPHYLLID CESTODIOSIS IN CAMEL (CAMELUS-DROMEDARIUS) IN INDIA

Culled camels (62), aged 5 to 16 years, were necropsied for cyclyophyllid cestode infections. Of these 1, 5 and 35 camel carcasses, respectively, harboured 1 Cysticercus dromedari, 9 adult Stilesia vitatta tapeworms and 688 hydatid cysts of Echinococcus granulosus origin. Overall infection rates for these cestodes were 1.6, 8.1 and 56.5% respectively. Involvement of more than one visceral organ with hydatid cysts was not unusual. Lung followed by liver were favoured sites of predilection. The lung:liver cyst load was 18.6 : 5.3. Epizootiological and zoonotic significance of cyclophyllid cestode infections of camel in Thar desert of India has been discussed.