Gastrointestinal-parasites infestation in Yankasa sheep in a semi-arid environment

摘要

ThisstudywasconductedinMaiduguri,NigeriatodeterminehowGastrointestinalparasitesinfestationwereaffectedbysex,season,ageandbodyweightandtheirrelationshipwithhaemoglobinconcentrationinYankasasheep.Atotalof135faecaland135bloodsampleswerecollectedineachofthetwoseasons(dryandraining)oftheyear2014,fromUniversityofMaiduguriLivestockteachingandResearchFarm,UniversityofMaiduguriVeterinaryLargeAnimalClinicandtheMaiduguriAbattoir.ThefeacalsampleswereanalysedforgastrointestinalparasiteeggsandHaemoglobinconcentrationofthebloodsamplewereanalysed.ThegastrointestinalparasiteseggcountwasestimatedusingtheModifiedMcmastertechniqueandthehaemoglobinconcentrationwasdeterminedusingcyanmethaemoglobinmethod.Fivespeciesofgastrointestinalparasiteseggsdiscoveredwere;Strongyle,Strongloides,Coccidianoccyst,Moniezia,andTrichuriswithmeancountsof1080,320,1208,30.2and1.60,respectively.Thereweresignificantdifferences(P0.05)betweenthemeangastrointestinalparasiteseggcountsamonganimalsofdifferentsexes,agegroups,bodyweightgroups,bloodhaemoglobinconcentrationsandindifferentseasonsoftheyear.Females(3631/67.3%)hadhigheroverallmeanparasiteseggcountsandprevalencethanthemales(1747/53.4%),therainingseason(2959/67.4%)washigherthanthedryseason(2559/53.3%).Agewise,sucklinganimals(3286/68.3%)weremoreinfectedthantheyoung(2999/59.3%)andadult(1993/53.5%).Thegroup06-31kghadthehighestoverallmeaneggcountandprevalence(3151/68.8%)thantheothergroups32-57kg(1812/62.4%)and58-81kg(1125/49.7%).Thegroupwithhaemoglobinconcentrationof5.7-8.3g/dlhadthehighestoverallmeanparasiticeggcountsof3468(67.9%)thanthoseofthegroupsof8.4-11.3g/dland11.4-14.3g/dlhaving2837(59.5%)and1988(53.7%),respectively;anindicationthatbloodhaemoglobinconcentrationandparasiteseggcountswerenegativelycorrelated.