Prevalence of Zoonotic Gastrointestinal Parasites of Goats in Selected Abattoirs Within Makurdi Metropolis

Abstract

<h3>Purpose</h3> There is a close association between diseases of animals, especially domestic animals and man. Zoonotic infections pose a significant public health threat. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of zoonotic gastrointestinal parasites of goats in 3 selected abattoirs in Makurdi Metropolis. <h3>Methods & Materials</h3> The study was carried out between July and October, 2013. A total of 150 faecal samples were collected using random sampling technique. Wet mount and Formol-ether sedimentation technique was used to prepare specimens which were examined using a compound microscope (at X 40 objective) for the identification of characteristic eggs of gastrointestinal parasites of goats. Statistical Analysis IBM SPSS software package (Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 20 for Windows) was used to analyze data. Categorical data were analyzed for comparison using Chi-Square Tests at a significant level of 0.05. <h3>Results</h3> Of the 150 faecal specimens examined, 143 (95.33%) were infected with at least one gastrointestinal parasite. Altogether, 8 parasites were identified among the 143 positive specimens – S<i>trongyloides papillosus</i> 43 (28.7%), <i>Fasciola gigantica</i> 37 (24.7%), <i>Trichuruis spp</i> 25 (16.7%), <i>Giardia spp</i> 13 (8.7%), <i>Marshallagia marshalli</i> 9 (6.0%), <i>Cryptosporidium spp</i> 8 (5.3%), <i>Eimeria spp</i> 5 (3.3%) and <i>Trichostrongyle spp</i> 3 (2.0%). Three zoonotic parasites were detected (<i>Gardia spp, Cryptosporidium spp</i> and <i>Eimeria spp</i>) with and an overall prevalence of 17.3%. There was no significant difference in infection between age and gender of goats sampled. <h3>Conclusion</h3> This study shows that zoonotic gastrointestinal parasites are prevalent among goats slaughtered at abattoirs within Makurdi metropolis.