Stilesia hepaticais a tapeworm parasite having sheep, goats, other livestock and numerous wild ruminants as final hosts. Though non-pathogenic even in massive infection, it causes marked economic loss due to liver condemnation at abattoir due to aesthetic reasons. No matter how the disease is economically important, research data pertaining to the parasite is by far limited. Therefore, a cross sectional study was conducted from November 2018 to April 2019 at Abyssiniya abattoir, Bishoftu, on 480 sheep and goats (240 sheep and 240 goats) originated from Borena zone of Oromia region in an attempt to determine the prevalence of Stilesia hepatica, risk factor and to estimate financial loss incurred due to liver condemnation. Ante-mortem physical examination, incision and inspection, microscopic examination and financial loss analysis methods were employed to study the parasite and assess losses associated to it. Stilesia hepatica is characterized by whitish color, dorso-ventrally flattened, externally rectangular segmented body. The parasite was measured and found to have an average length of 62cm and an average width of 3mm. SPSS v20 statistical tool was applied to analyze the data. Statistically, the overall prevalence of Stilesia hepatica on both sheep and goat was determined to be53.1%. Moreover, the prevalence of the parasiteby animal specieswas calculated for goats and sheep to be 48.3% and 57.9%, respectively. Species of animals and body condition scores were found to be significantly associated (P< 0.05) with the disease and had strong association in between the risk factors with parasite development. The present study has also indicated the annual financial loss attributed to the parasite to be 168,300 ETB or 5,807.45 USD. In conclusion, higher rate of parasitic infection and huge financial loss was observed during the study period urging for action or prevention.
