Gastrointestinal nematodes and body condition scores of goats slaughtered in Nsukka, Nigeria.

Abstract

Gastrointestinal (GI) nematodes of 210 trade goats slaughtered in Nsukka area of Enugu state and their effects on body conditions was studied between May and August, 2011. The body condition of each goat were determined and scored on a scale of 1 – 5. Faecal samples were then collected from the goats before slaughter and their respective GI tract washings after slaughter for parasitological examination using standard procedures. The results revealed that Strongyles were the most prevalent nematode encountered in the goats (90.0%). The prevalence of mixed infection were 40.95%, 12.87%, 9.52% and 11.09% respectively for Strongyle + Strongyloides, Strongyle + Trichuris, Strongyloides + Trichuris and Strongyle + Strongyloides + Trichuris. Haemonchus contortus was the predominant nematode infecting the goats followed by Trichostrongylus spp, Oesophagostomum spp and Strongyloides spp in that order. Sex and age of the animals were shown to have association with prevalence but significant (p> 0.05) difference was not found. There was an inverse and significant (p ? 0.05) relationship between body condition scores and the duo of mean egg per gram of faeces and adult worm burden of the goats. We concluded that GI nematode parasites are major problems of the goats slaughtered in Nsukka abattoir and the parasites had a remarkable effect on the body condition scores of the goats. KEY WORDS : Gastrointestinal nematode; prevalence; goats; body condition score; Nigeria