Abstract
Coprological studies on the prevalence of gastrointestinal helminth (GI) parasites in domestic ruminants from Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, India, were carried out for a period of one year from January 2019 to December 2019. Fecal examination was done using direct smear, sedimentation and floatation methods. Altogether 3527 fecal samples were examined including 595 from cows, 485 from buffaloes, 1342 from sheep and 1105 from goat. Out of 3527 fecal samples examined, 1084 were found to be positive with three groups of gastrointestinal parasites (GI) showing an overall prevalence of 30.7%. Maximum infection was noted with nematodes (39.1%) and trematodes (37.3%), least infection was noted with cestodes (3.5%) and mixed infections were found to be moderate (20.01%). Host wise prevalence of parasitic infection has shown highest in the case of cattle recording 43.03%, followed by 40.8% in buffaloes, 29.4% in sheep, and 21.4% in goats. Total six varieties of parasites were recorded, the predominant being Haemonchus (Strongyle group) (29.25%), followed by Paramphistomum (25.5%), Fasciola (11.9%), Strongyloides (7.6%), Moniezia (3.5%) and Trichuris (2.2%). Season wise data on prevalence showed, high rate of infection in summer season (32.0%) when compared to winter (30.2%) and rainy (29.9%) seasons. Further studies are needed to design a rational for sustainable management of GI parasite infections in domestic animals of local regions.
Highlights
India possesses a rapidly growing animal husbandry sector which is striving hard to attain selfsufficiency in the production of livestock products (Dhama et al, 2013)
A total of 3,527 fecal samples were collected from cows (595), buffalos (485), sheep (1342) and goat (1105) and, out of which 1084 were found positive recording a prevalence of 30.73%
The present study revealed moderate infections with gastrointestinal helminth (GI) helminth parasites in domestic ruminants from Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh with an overall prevalence of 30.73% (Table 1)
Summary
India possesses a rapidly growing animal husbandry sector which is striving hard to attain selfsufficiency in the production of livestock products (Dhama et al, 2013). Parasitic infections have been a serious constrain to health and productivity of livestock including cattle, sheep and goats (Mahusoon, et al, 2004). The frequent contamination of aquatic and terrestrial bodies with parasite eggs and larvae has made the task of controlling these infections in veterinary animals a big challenge both in developing and developed countries. These infections are responsible for considerable economic loss by way of decreased milk yield, reduced weight, severe debilitation and morbidity in livestock, besides causing major health problems in domestic animals (Swarnakar et al.,2015). GI helminth infections with various groups of parasites viz. nematodes, trematodes and cestodes were reported from ruminants (Ntonifor, et al, 2013)
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