Hemoparasites and Hematological Evaluations in Sokoto Red Goats Slaughtered During the Dry Season in Sabon Gari Local Government Area, Kaduna State, Nigeria

A total of 150 blood samples collected from Sokoto Red goats (SRG) slaughtered at the Zaria Abattoir (ZA) and Dogarawa Small Ruminants Slaughter Slab (DSRSS), Sabon Gari Local Government Area, Kaduna State, Nigeria during the dry season months of January and February, 2009 were examined for hemoparasites using the microhematcrit, thin, and thick blood smear techniques. Packed cell volume (PCV), hemoglobin concentration (Hb), total plasma protein (TP) concentration, total WBC counts, and differential WBC counts were determined. Overall, 24.7% of the goats sampled were positive for hemoparasites. The blood parasites identified were Anaplasma ovis (Lestoquard, 1924) 20.0%, Theileria ovis (Rodhain, 1916) 3.0%, and Babesia ovis (Starcovici, 1893) 1.0%. Mixed infections (1.7%) due to A.ovis and T.ovis were also detected. A.ovis was the most predominant blood parasite detected using the thin blood smear method in the goats. The mean PCV, Hb concentration, TP, and WBC counts in the goats infected with any of the hemoparasites were not significantly different (P>0.05) from those of goats negative for any hemoparasites. However, significant differences (P<0.05) occurred between the non-hemoparasite infected goats and those infected with T.ovis. The results have indicated that, based on the diagnostic methods employed, goats slaughtered at the two locations were infected with hemoparasites even during the drier seasons of the year when the tick vector challenge is known to be minimal. Nevertheless, T.ovis was identified to have potentially detrimental effects on the health of the goats. None of the goats had trypanosome infection based on the diagnostic methods used. KEY WORDS : Hemoparasites, Anaplasma ovis, Theileria ovis, Babesia sp, slaughtered goats.