An epidemiological investigation of gastrointestinal parasites of small ruminants in Tangail, Bangladesh

Anita Rani Dey,Md Atikur Rahman,Mohammad Zahangir Alam,Sharmin Shahid Labony

doi:10.3329/jbau.v15i2.35071

Abstract

Gastrointestinal (GI) parasitism is anegregious problem in small ruminant production system due to is impact on growth and associated cost of control measures. An epidemiological study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites of small ruminants from different areas of Madhupur, Tangail. The stool samples were collected from a total of 426 goats and sheep from study areas. Specimens were subjected to Stoll’s ova counting technique and the overall prevalence of gastrointestinal parasitic infection was found 63.4%. Overall prevalence of nematodes, cestodes, trematodes and protozoa was 52.11%, 2.11%, 36.62% and 10.33%, respectively. The prevalence of parasites were variable with Fasciola spp. (8.45%), Paramphistomum spp. (28.17%), Monieziaspp. (2.11%), Haemonchus spp. (31.22%), Trichurisspp. (1.17%), Oesophagostomum spp. (10.80%), Strongyloides spp. (4.93%), Trichostrongylus spp. (2.35%), Bunostomum spp. (1.64%), Eimeria spp. (24%) and Balantidium spp. (6.34%). Parasitic ova counts in male and female exhibited no significant variations (p>0.05) between them. The infection was significantly higher (65.11%) in adult than in young (58.09%). No significant (p>0.05) variation was observed in infection rates between goats (64.09%) and sheep (60.67%). Seasonal variation was found significant between rainy (72.44%), winter (56.72%) and summer (61.82%) seasons. Animals with poor body conditions (74.67%) were mostly affected compared to those with moderate (62.38%) and good (39.00%) body conditions. Further attempt is necessary for a structured surveillance and monitoring of GI parasites to formulate effective control measures.J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 15(2): 255-259, December 2017

Highlights

Small ruminants especially sheep and goats play an important role in the rural economy of Bangladesh and contribute to earnings of significant amount of foreign currency by exporting skins and other by-products (Kamaruddin, 2003)
Overall prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites (GI) in small ruminants Our study revealed a variable prevalence of gastrointestinal parasitic infection in small ruminants of Madhupurupazila of Tangail District
The present study revealedthat 63.4% (270/426) small ruminants were infested with a numberof GI parasites, namely, Haemonchus spp., Oesophagostomum spp., Strongyloides spp., Trichostrongylus spp., Trichuris spp., Bunostomum spp., Moniezia spp., Fasciola gigantica, Paramphistomum spp., Eimeria spp., Balantidium coli (Fig. 1)

Summary

Introduction

Small ruminants especially sheep and goats play an important role in the rural economy of Bangladesh and contribute to earnings of significant amount of foreign currency by exporting skins and other by-products (Kamaruddin, 2003). Helminth infestation lowers the immunity of the animals and render them susceptible to other pathogenic infections (Garedaghi et al, 2011).Previous reports suggested that amongst the disease of small ruminants, the parasitic diseases are of prime importance in Bangladesh (Rahman, 1975). He reported the death of as high as 25.0% kids and lambs and 43.5% adult goats due to GI parasites in both rural and farm condition. In another report, Mazid et al (2006) reported that about 81.1% and 94.7%

Methods

Results

Conclusion