Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Gastrointestinal Nematodiasis in Small Ruminants in North East Ethiopia

Abstract

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 384 small ruminants in and around Kombolcha, north east Ethiopia from November 2014 to April 2015 to determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal nematode and to observe the association of GIT nematodes with age, body condition, history of anthelmintic treatment and species of small ruminants. Screening and generic identification of observed gastrointestinal nematodes was done by coprological methods including floatation and faecal culture technique. The fecal samples examined revealed an overall prevalence of 42.2% (162/384) GIT nematodes in the small ruminants with 47.2% (111/384) in sheep and 34.2% (51/384) in goats. During fecal culture examination, five different genera of nematodes were identified. The most prevalent nematode was the Haemonchus 15.9% (OR=3.57, CI=2.46–5.16) as single infection and mixed infections of Haemonchus with Trichostrongylus 6.8% (OR=3.17, CI=2.71–3.68) followed by Trichuris 19.7% (OR=1.92, CI=1.20–3.07). The prevalence of gastrointestinal nematode infection showed a significant difference (p < 0.05) between young and adult age groups, in both sheep and goats, and animals with poor/moderate body condition and good body condition scores (p<0.05). In addition, there was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in prevalence among anthelmintic treated and non-treated animals and also between sexes of study animals. The present study highlights the higher prevalence of GIT nematodes in small ruminants in the study area and associated risk factors of small ruminant nematodiasis. Therefore, effective strategic treatment and public awareness creation should be instituted in the study area.