Conference Abstract | Volume 9 (ConfPro8): Abstract 97 | Published: 12 Oct 2026
António Francisco da Silva Sumbana1,2,&, Cristolde Salomão1, Édice Mandua1, Dercília Arone2, Zacarias Massicame2, Auria Banze1
1Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP), Frontline, National Institute of Health, Maputo, Mozambique, 2Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries, National Directorate of Plant, Animal Health and Biosecurity, Maputo, Mozambique
&Corresponding author: António Francisco da Silva Sumbana, Field Epidemiology Training Program – FETP – Front Line, Maputo, Mozambique, Email: manitosumbana@gmail.com
Received: 11 Mar 2026, Accepted: 30 Aug 2026, Published: 12 Oct 2026
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Hydatidosis, cattle cases, province, One Health, Mozambique
©António Francisco da Silva Sumbana et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: António Francisco da Silva Sumbana et al., Bovine hydatidosis in Southern Mozambique: A retrospective surveillance review, 2020–2025. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2026;9(ConfPro8):97. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO8-0097
Hydatidosis is a neglected zoonotic disease caused by Echinococcus granulosus. The parasite infects intermediate hosts affecting the liver, lungs, kidneys, and brain. The WHO reported 19,300 people die annually worldwide due the disease. In southern Mozambique, the prevalence was 3.9% in cattle and 2.9% in pigs. The objective was to describe cases of hydatidosis in cattle in southern Mozambique.
A descriptive study was conducted in Maputo, Gaza, and Inhambane provinces. Definition of cases are all cattle slaughtered with presence of hydatid cysts in the liver, kidneys, or lungs during post-mortem inspection, as recorded in the information system of the Ministry of Agriculture. The proportion of positive cases were calculated using positive cases divided by the total number of slaughtered, while prevalence was calculated using number of cases divided by the bovine population.
During the study period, 1,424 cases were recorded in the provinces under study, where 84.8% (1,208/1,424) in Gaza, 10.9% (147/1,424) in Inhambane, and 4.3% (61/1,424) in Maputo. In 2023 were reported 29.4% (419/1,424) of the cases. In 2022, the prevalence in Chicualacuala district was 0.27% (120 cases/44,878 cattle), followed by Mapai with 0.24% (107 cases/44,888 cattle). In 2023, the prevalence in Chicualacuala was 0.34% (152 cases/49,060 cattle), while in Mapai was 0.26% (123 cases/47,534 cattle). Thus, the denominator used for prevalence was the total cattle population in the respective district and year. Losses of 800 kg of liver, 200 kg of lungs, and 150 kg of kidneys were recorded due to partial or total condemnation during post-mortem inspection.
Post-mortem inspection identified a high occurrence of hydatidosis in Gaza Province, particularly in Chicualacuala and Mapai. Surveillance programmes and screening for human cases should be implemented in communities where cases have been reported. This requires interinstitutional collaboration within One Health approach to ensure effective disease control.
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