Although ovine cysticercosis is not a zoonotic problem, it results in substantial economic losses due to the condemnation of infected tissues or entire carcasses. This study aimed to record preliminary data on the prevalence, and phylogenetic diversity of Cysticercus ovis isolates from slaughtered sheep in the province of Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.

Although ovine cysticercosis is not a zoonotic problem, it results in substantial economic losses due to the condemnation of infected tissues or entire carcasses. This study aimed to record preliminary data on the prevalence, and phylogenetic diversity of Cysticercus ovis isolates from slaughtered sheep in the province of Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. From January to September 2020, 6, 411 slaughtered sheep were examined for C. ovis by routine meat inspection. The amplification and sequence analysis of the COX1 gene for up to 35 specimens of C. ovis was performed using conventional PCR. The overall prevalence rate was 1.3%, and the prevalence was significantly higher in older sheep (>1 year) than younger ones (<1 year) (P< 0.05). The cardiac muscle showed a higher tendency to carry C. ovis infection compared to other examined muscles. Sequence analysis of the COX1 gene revealed six haplotypes, and the level of pairwise nucleotide diversity between individual haplotypes was 1–2%. Five out of six of the Taenia ovis haplotypes recovered could have been recorded for the first time globally. Phylogenetic interpretation indicated that all the T. ovis haplotypes clustered in a single clade, and it also indicated an extremely close similarity to Iranian and New Zealand isolates. Globally, this report adds new data on C. ovis genetic diversity, which provide an extremely useful molecular background with regard to future preventive as well as control strategies.