Anthelminthic resistance of gastrointestinal nematode parasites of West African Dwarf goats in Ikwuano LGA, Abia State, Nigeria

Abstract

Goat production in Nigeria has faced a major constraint resulting from parasitic infections, notably the parasitic gastrointestinal (GI) nematode which has resulted in high morbidity, mortality, high cost of treatment and high economic losses. Another problem encountered in the treatment of gastrointestinal nematode infection is anthelmintic resistance, hence, the need to investigate the anthelmintic resistance status of GI nematodes of West African Dwarf (WAD) goats in Ikwuano area of Abia State, Nigeria. A faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) was carried out in naturally infected WAD goats. A total of 60 WAD goats were randomly assigned into 3 groups of 20 WAD goats in each group and screened for GI nematode eggs. Group A treated with ivermectin, group B was treated with levamisole and group C was treated with fenbendazole. The percentage reductions in FEC in male and female WAD goats in ivermectin treated group were 72.42% and 67.98%, Levamisole treated group were 61.67% and 65.22% in male and female WAD goats respectively and 59.50% and 52.63% for male and female in fenbendazole treated group. The percentage reduction of FEC in young and Adult WAD goats treated with ivermectin were 63.05% and 70.52%, and 58.08% and 67.04% for levamisole treated group respectively, while fenbendazole treated group had 60.03 and 54.08% reduction respectively. Resistance was observed in all the anthelmintic drugs used, which poses a huge threat to livestock production in the study area.