Prevalence of parasitic helminthes among ruminants in Etiti Area of Imo State, Nigeria

A prevalence study of helminthes in ruminants involving a six months fecal examination for helminth eggs was carried out at four sites in Etiti, Imo State, Nigeria. Out of 628 cattle, 670 goats and 234 sheep examined, 78.3%, 77.9% and 76.9%, respectively were infected. Nematode infection was consistently high in all the animal hosts and had a mean prevalence rate of 76.8%, while trematodes and cestodes recorded 15.5% and 7.7% respectively. Oesophagostomum species were responsible for the highest prevalence rates in all the animals with, O. columbianum posting 28.6% and 19.2% in cattle and goats, respectively, while O. venulosum gave 20.8% in sheep. In the sites studied, Orieagu (61.3%), Achingali (94.5%), and Orieagu (96.7%) had the highest rates of nematodes infection in cattle, goats and sheep, respectively. Nematode infection was also significantly higher in the male cattle (53.3%) but not so for sheep and goats. Trematodes and cestodes incidence rates in cattle showed clear monthly trends with rates dropping in February and then rising to maintain a relatively high level during the early rainy (ER) season months of March to May. Veterinary education of herd owners geared towards routine medication of ruminants is needed in the area, since the present study showed very high prevalence rates especially of nematodes among them.Keywords: helminths, prevalence, ruminants, Nigeria Animal Production Research Advances Vol. 1(1) 2005: 13-19