Prevalence of Haemoparasites and Associated Risk Factors in Working Donkeys in Adigudem and Kwiha Districts of Tigray Region, Northern Ethiopia

Abstract

A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2008 to March 2009 in Adigudem and Kwiha districts of Tigray regional state with the objective of identifying the prevalence of haemoparasites and the associated risk factors in working donkeys. Blood samples were collected from a total of 400 randomly selected donkeys and examined by dark ground/phase contrast buffy coat technique and Giemsa stained blood smears. The overall prevalence of haemoparasites was 2.5% (n =10) without significant variation between the two districts (p>0.05). Babesia and trypansomes were the haemoparasites observed in the donkeys with a prevalence of 1.75% (n=7) and 0.75 % (n=3), respectively. Species identification has indicated the presence of two species of Babesia: Babesia equi (71.43%) and Babesia caballi (28.6%) whereas all the trypanosomes encountered belong to the single species of Trypanosoma vivax. No significant association was observed between the prevalence of either of the two haemoparasites and the hypothesized risk factors (district, sex, age and body condition score) (p>0.05 for all factors). The mean packed cell volume (PCV) of trypanosome infected donkeys (20.67±4.04) was significantly (p 0.05). Moreover, this study has shown that 22% donkeys tested serologically were seropositive for Trypanosoma evansi and Trypanosoma equiperdum. Overall, the prevalence of haemoparasites reported in the current study is low compared with previous studies and might be associated with the study design, the season of study, low sensitivity of the parasitological technique or a better veterinary service provided in the area by a charity organization.