Incidence of Cysticercosis in bovines is not uncommon and reported by Githigia et al. (1995) and Mori et al. (1996). The intermediate stage that mostly occurs in skeletal and cardiac muscle of cattle is termed as ”measly beef.“ However, other organs, such as liver, lungs, tongue and diaphragm may also be affected. Mori et al. (1996) and Zinkovic et al. (1996) reported the location of intermediate stage in the heart muscle, however, record of its occurrence in the heart muscle of bovines in India is scanty (Ratnam and Khanna, 1988). The present communication documents the occurrence of Cysticercus bovis in the heart muscle of a cow.

A two years old heifer of the Department of Animal Physiology, College of Veterinary Science, Khanapara was received for post-mortem examination in the Department of Pathology. The animal was necropsied thoroughly and detailed investigation was carried out to ascertain the cause of death. The heart, liver, lung, kidney and intestine were collected and preserved in 10% formalin for histopathological examination. Paraffin embedded tissues were cut at 4–5 µm thickness, stained with Haematoxilin and Eosin and examined as per standard procedure.

The carcass was submitted with the history that the animal was suffering from diarrhoea, dehydration, emaciation and anaemia. At necropsy, the liver showed greyish white necrotic foci at places while the small intestine showed haemorrhages. The most striking lesions found in the heart were numerous greyish white cysts which contain a whitish granule in its fluid. The cysts were ranging in size from 5 to 9 mm, projecting from epicardium and endocardial surface, covering almost all parts of the heart muscle (Fig. 1). The cysts resemble Cysticercus bovis infection. Mclntosh and Miller (1960) described similar type of cyst in the heart muscle of cattle with the developmental stages of Taneia saginata.

No significant changes could be recorded in different organs except the haemorrhagic enteritis. The lesions of the heart revealed areas of cystic cavities in the epicardium and endocardium and within it invaginated scolices were present which were devoid of hooks and thus were identified as the bladder worm of Cysticercus bovis (Fig. 2 and Fig. 3) (Silverman and Hulland, 1961). A thin wall of the cyst was found to adhere with the dense fibrous connective tissue over the epicardium. There was displacement of the cardiac tissue beneath the cysts with mild degree of infiltration of mononuclear cells, congestion and haemorrhages.

The microscopic observation of bovine mature Cysticercosis recorded in the present study is in agreement with the findings of Silverman and Hulland (1961) and Jones and Hunt (1983). Moreover, sarcocystis in large numbers were seen within the heart muscle which were devoid of any inflammatory reaction. This observation supports the observations of Jones and Hunt (1983), who recorded that the presence of numerous sarcocystis in the heart muscle and in the purkinjee fibre, but without inflammatory reaction.

Since both the Cysticercus and sarcocystis have zoonotic importance (Mclntosh and Miller, 1960; Shah, 1995), this communication confirms the prevalence of sarcocystis and measly beef in this part of the country.

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