Economic impact of bovine cysticercosis and taeniosis caused by Taenia saginata in Belgium

Abstract

BackgroundBovine cysticercosis (BCC) (due to Taenia saginata) is often claimed to cause considerable economic losses to the livestock industry, particularly in beef cattle, but recent studies estimating the economic impact are lacking. The current study aimed to quantify the annual economic impact of BCC in Belgium from 2012 to 2016, by gathering data from diverse sources in the meat and human health sectors.ResultsIn Belgium, on average, 15 carcasses with generalised infections and 1168 carcasses with localised ones are detected upon meat inspection each year. The highest proportion of the total economic losses due to bovine cysticercosis were borne by the cattle owners with an average economic cost of €3,408,455/year: €2,954,061/year due to BCC insurance, €453,024/year due to value losses of beef of uninsured carcasses (i.e. freezing process) and €1370/year due to destruction costs of uninsured carcasses with generalised infections. The slaughterhouses suffered an economic impact of €210,806/year. They were responsible for inspection costs related to meat inspection in general, administration, processing and deboning of infected carcasses (€597,856/year), value losses (€34,848/year) and destruction costs (€105/year) of carcasses insured by the slaughterhouses (unofficial insurance) (5% of slaughtered animals). On the other hand, the slaughterhouses gained a total of €422,004/year due to unofficial insurance fees. Thirty percent of all slaughtered animals were officially insured against BCC and the insurance company generated an income of €2,322,337/year. The economic impact related to taeniosis (10,991 patients annually) amounted to a maximum of €795,858/year.ConclusionBCC and taeniosis due to T. saginata have a large economic impact in Belgium, mainly due to the insurance costs for BCC. These results indicate the need for reducing the number of BCC and taeniosis cases to avoid the costs and losses related to this parasite.

Epidemiology and economic impact of bovine cysticercosis and taeniosis caused by Taenia saginata in northeastern Spain (Catalonia)

“…To address this, we asked for the time dedicated exclusively to searching and applying sanitary measures related to bovine cysticercosis, but obviously the uncertainty around this estimate is high. Despite that, the time dedicated to routine meat inspection addressing bovine cysticercosis was very similar to what has been found in a similar study performed in Belgium [35]. …”

“…In the case of Belgium, costs also included an insurance paid to cover the losses due to bovine cysticercosis that does not exist in Catalonia. Without including insurance costs, the costs per carcass (including value loss and disposal costs) were similar: 509 € and 1140 € per lightly and heavily infected carcasses, respectively, in Catalonia, versus an average of 586 € and 998 € per lightly and heavily infected carcasses, respectively, in Belgium [35]. These recent estimates are higher than costs estimated in earlier studies.…”

“…In Belgium, these costs were lower ranging between 6.29 € and 72.4 € per patient depending on whether patients consulted a physician or not [35]. In our study, the costs were estimated based on the patients consulting primary care but the number of cases could be underreported as it is not a notifiable disease.…”

“…The results of our study contrast with what has been reported in other countries. For example, in Belgium, around 11,000 taeniosis cases have been estimated to occur annually [35]. These differences in the human health impact might be related to differences in the prevalence of bovine cysticercosis.…”

“…revenue generated by 124,500 tons of beef that were produced in 2015) [43]. Compared to the costs estimated in other countries (437,730 € in 2016 in mainland France [44] and 3,579,335 €/year in Belgium [35]), the costs in Catalonia were much lower. Nevertheless, these figures are not directly comparable as they are influenced by the prevalence and number of animals slaughtered.…”