Abstract

  Gastrointestinal parasites pose a serious health threat and limitation to the production of ruminants and other livestock in Nigeria. This study surveyed gastrointestinal helminths of cattle and goat slaughtered at Lafia abattoir in Lafia LGA, Nasarawa State, Nigeria between May and June 2018. Two hundred (200) faecal samples were collected from 100 cattle and 100 goats respectively. The samples were analyzed using formol-ether concentration technique and floatation method. Of the 200 samples analyzed, 84 (42.0%) were infected by intestinal helminths. Fasciola spp. 16 (8.00%) was the most prevalent helminth found infecting the ruminants while Paragonimus uterobilateralis 2 (2%) was least prevalent. The prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths in relation to the two ruminants showed a significant difference (P = 0.03599). The female ruminant 59 (43.70%) were more infected by intestinal helminthes than males 25 (38.46%). However, the prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths in relation to gender of ruminants showed no significant difference (P = 0.5459). The prevalence rate between helminthic groups highly varied significantly (P < 0.001). Considering the impact of the gastrointestinal helminths infections on animal production and public health, it is therefore suggested that effective prophylactic measures be adopted by ruminants’ livestock owners as a first step to curtailing helminthic infections among free range animals. Also, abattoirs should be well maintained in relation to high sanitary standards.

Keywords: elminths; Cattle; Goat; Abattoir; Lafia

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Citation

Citation: Ombugadu A., et al. “Studies on Helminths in Cattle and Goats Slaughtered at Lafia Abattoir, Lafia Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, Nigeria". Acta Scientific Biotechnology 1.4 (2020): 30-33.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Ombugadu A., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.