Prevalence and seasonal changes in the population of gastrointestinal nematodes of small ruminants in the semi-arid zone of north-eastern Nigeria
Introduction
Domesticated small ruminants, especially sheep and goats, constitute an important source of animal protein to many Nigerians. A lot of socio-economic importance is therefore attached to ownership of these animals that, in some cases, may be the only realizable wealth of a rural household (Mathewman, 1977, Omeke, 1988). Helminthiasis, especially parasitic gastro-enteritis (PGE) constitutes a serious health problem and limitation to the productivity of small ruminants in Nigeria due to the associated morbidity, mortality and cost of treatment and control measures (Anosa, 1977, Chiejina, 1987, Nwosu et al., 1996a, Nwosu et al., 1996b).
Parasitic gastro-enteritis is widely distributed in Nigeria and the prevalence and seasonal changes in the abundance of the causative parasites have been studied and reported from some geographical zones of the country (Chiejina, 1986, Nwosu et al., 1996a, Nwosu et al., 1996b). However, information is lacking on the situation in the semi-arid and arid zones of north-eastern Nigeria that produce over 30% of the small ruminant livestock in the country (Anon., 1980, Nwosu and Srivastava, 1993). This study was therefore designed to provide preliminary information on the prevalence and seasonal abundance of gastrointestinal nematode parasites of sheep and goats in the semi-arid zone of north-eastern Nigeria.
Section snippets
Study area and animals
The study was conducted between January and December 2002 in three local government areas (Jere, Konduga and Maiduguri metropolitan) of Borno state within the semi-arid zone of north-eastern Nigeria. The area with a mean annual rainfall of 553 mm usually has a short rainy season from June to September followed by a prolonged dry season for the rest of the year (Hess et al., 1995, Maryah, 2005). Sheep and goats of various breeds, sexes and age groups used for the study were randomly selected from
Results
Out of the 102 sheep and 147 goats examined in small-holder farms during the study period, 44 (43.1%) and 82 (55.8%) were, respectively, shedding nematode eggs in their faeces (Table 1, Table 2). The nematode egg types recovered from both sheep and goats were those of strongyles, Trichuris and Strongyloides species. Faecal egg counts were generally moderate in both sheep and goats and showed the same trend irrespective of the age and sex of the animals. Among the three nematode egg types
Discussion
The results of the faecal examination during the study revealed that only 43.1% of the sheep and 55.8% of the goats maintained under natural conditions in small-holder farms in the semi-arid zone of north-eastern Nigeria harboured gastrointestinal parasites during the period. The results also showed that strongyle egg type was the most prevalent. This agrees with previous reports from other geographical regions of Nigeria (Chiejina, 1986, Nwosu et al., 1996a, Nwosu et al., 1996b). In contrast,
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