Abstract

Background:
Cœnurosis is a cestodosis of the central nervous system in sheep caused by Coenurus cerebralis, a larva of Taenia multiceps, a tapeworm that infests the small intestine of dogs. This parasitic disease is a major health problem that can lead to the death of the animal, causing significant economic losses. Cœnurosis generally shows no clinical symptoms at the onset of infection; therefore, farmers and veterinarians struggle to identify the early signs of the disease in the field.

Aim:
The objective of the research is to determine the prevalence of cœnurosis in sheep in the province of Kenitra and to highlight the relationship between this disease and risk factors, namely sex, age, farming system, and seasons.

Methods:
We conducted a study on 687 animals from various locations. The latter adopt extensive and intensive farming methods. We collected all brains of sheep showing neurological signs of cœnurosis; all cysts extracted from infected brains were stored in coolers for subsequent analysis of their fertility and viability in order to create a database for determining the prevalence of the disease and identifying the risk factors that influence its persistence.

Results:
Post-mortem examination of the heads of infected animals showed that 12.37% harboured cœnurosis cysts filled with a translucent fluid containing numerous clearly visible protoscolices; data analysis revealed a positive relationship between the prevalence of T. multiceps, age, and farming system, while there was no association with sex or season. The survey also showed a link between T. multiceps infection in dogs and cœnurosis.

Conclusion:
It should be concluded that the prevalence of sheep cœnurosis in Kenitra, Morocco, has reached a worrying level (12.37%), which requires increased attention to sheep health in the region to prevent the spread of this disease. It is necessary to raise awareness among sheep farmers, to permanently eliminate infected animals by burying or incinerating them, to regularly deworm dogs, and finally to collect and destroy dog droppings near feed storage areas or water points to prevent sheep from ingesting tapeworm eggs while grazing.

Key words: Cœnurosis; Coenurus cerebralis; Risk factors; Sheep; Taenia multiceps.