Retrospective study on occurrence of bovine gastrointestinal parasitic infections in different regions of Haryana

Abstract

The production and reproduction of livestock is hampered by the presence of gastrointestinal (GI) parasitic infections. The effect of parasites ranges from anorexia, loss of body condition, anaemia, diarrhoea, protein losing enteropathy and loss of body condition apart from aforementioned direct and indirect effects on the animals leads to huge economic losses to livestock owners. In the present study, a total of 1669 faecal samples from cattle (n=550) and buffaloes (n=1119) with the history of diarrhoea or digestive disturbances were processed for presence of parasitic infections at different disease investigation laboratories (Ambala, Bhiwani, Mahendragarh and Rohtak) of Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Hisar, Haryana from July 2021 to June 2022. All the faecal samples were processed by floatation and sedimentation methods for detection of parasitic eggs and the results revealed that 29.6% cattle and 34.7% buffaloes were positive for GI parasites. Buxtonella sulcata (17.7%), Amphistomes (5.2%), and Strongyles (6.9%) were the major parasites observed in cattle and buffaloes. The occurrence of parasitic infection was significantly higher (P<0.05) in Rohtak followed by Bhiwani, Ambala and the least in Mahendragarh district of Haryana. However, no significant difference (P>0.05) between the cattle and buffaloes of geographical regions was observed. Further, analysis of month, season and age influences on prevalence of GI parasites were found to have no significant impact (P>0.05). Overall, this study helps to assess the parasitic load within the study region and helps to further devise control strategies against the parasites of bovines.