Prevalence and distribution of enteric pathogens detected in slaughtered goats in Jeonbuk Province, Korea

This study investigated the prevalence and distribution of enteric pathogens detected in goats slaughtered in Jeonbuk Province, Korea, to provide baseline data for pathogen surveillance and public health monitoring.A total of 150 goats slaughtered between March and October 2025 were examined.Mesenteric lymph nodes and intestinal tissues were aseptically collected and analyzed using real-time PCR for viral (bovine viral diarrhea virus, BVDV; bovine rotavirus, BRV; bovine coronavirus, BCoV), bacterial (pathogenic Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp.), and parasitic (Eimeria spp., Cryptosporidium spp.) pathogens.At least one pathogen was detected in 136 of 150 goats (90.7%).Parasitic pathogens predominated, with Eimeria spp.detected in 87.3% and Cryptosporidium spp. in 3.3% of goats.Viral pathogens were detected in 4.0% of goats, including BRV (3.3%) and BVDV (0.7%), whereas BCoV was not detected.Bacterial pathogens included pathogenic E. coli (2.7%) and Salmonella spp.(0.7%).Co-detections involving parasitic pathogens with viral and/or bacterial pathogens were observed in 7.3% of goats.The results indicate that many slaughter-age goats carry enteric pathogens, with Eimeria spp.being the most frequently detected organism.These findings provide baseline information on enteric pathogen carriage in goats and suggest that slaughterhousebased sampling may contribute to surveillance of animal and foodborne pathogens.