The cross sectional study was conducted from October, 2013 to April, 2014 at Dire Dawa municipal
abattoir with the objectives of determining the prevalence of camel hydatidosis and to estimate the economic
loss attributed to hydatid disease. Of the 450 examined animals 129 (28.67%) were found to harbour hydatid
cysts. Age, sex, body condition and origin of the animals were found statistically insignificant in variation.
The total number of organs affected by one or more hydatid cyst(s) was found to be 162 out of which liver
account for 83(51.23%), lung 73(45.06%), gastro intestinal tract 4(2.46%), kidney 1(0.6%) and heart 1 (0.6%).
Liver infection was greater than in lung, followed by gastro intestinal tract, kidney and heart. Out of the
examined cysts, 41.01% were found to be fertile and viable, while 17.94%%, 21.15% and 19.97% were non-viable,
sterile and calcified cysts, respectively. The fertility of the cysts was 68.75% and 70.5% in liver and lungs,
respectively.The annual financial loss at Dire Dawa municipal abattoir was estimated Ethiopian birr 27, 242.67.
From the result obtained in this study, it can be concluded that hydatidosis is one of the most economically
important camel disease in the area warranting serious attention. Therefore, appropriate control and prevention
measures need to be taken in order to minimize the economic loss associated with the problem and to prevent
the zoonotic risk to the public health.