Prevalence and Species Composition of Abomasal Nematodes in Sheep and Goats Slaughtered at Tabriz Town, Iran

Abstract

A study was carried out to determine the prevalence of abomasal nematodes of sheep and goats slaughtered in Tabriz town from January 2012 through June 2012 with special emphasis given to Haemonchus species. During the study period 200 abomasa of sheep and 200 abomasa of goats were examined according to standard procedures. Three genera of nematodes were identified in both sheep and goats abomasa with overall prevalence of 88 % (n = 200). And 79.5 % (n = 200), respectively. The specific prevalence rates observed were 77.2 % for Haemonchus spp., 44.1% for Trichostrongylus axei, and 16.3% for Teladorsagia spp. in sheep and 73.1 % for Haemonchus spp., 36.2 % for T. axei and 17.3% for Teladorsagia spp. in goats. Generally a high infection rate with abomasal nematodes was observed in both sheep and goats of the study area.