Abstract
Hepatic small nodular lesions associated with alveoral echinoccosis have been observed in the past on slaughtered pigs and horses in Hokkaido Prefecture, but no previous record exists of similar lesions on cattle. In this study, we carried out histopathological analysis of the hepatic small nodular lesions collected from 36 slaughtered cattle in Hokkaido. Histopathologically, a nematode or a nematode-like structure was detected on the center of the necrotic nest in five cases, which were suspected to be Setaria digitata, Calodium hepaticum or Calodium-like parasites, and an unidentified nematode. Also, lesions associated with botryomycosis and mycotic granuloma were found in each case. All of the other nodular lesions were diagnosed as either a parasitic eosinophilic granulomatous lesion, a micro-abscess, a lymphoid follicle formation, a cholangitis, a nodular hyperplasia, a fat necrosis, or a chronic granuloma. In this study, Echinococcus multilocularis was not detected in the hepatic nodular lesions of the slaughtered cattle in Hokkaido Prefecture.
