Prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths and assessment of associated risk factors in pigs from Rajasthan districts, India

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of gastrointestinal helminthic infections in swine population of Rajasthan, India. A total of 769 faecal samples (including 398 from farm and 371 from stray pigs) were collected from pigs of various districts representing different agro-climatic zones of Rajasthan from September 2017 to August 2018 and examined for gastrointestinal helminths. Coprological examination revealed an overall prevalence of 56.95% (farm: 34.67%, stray: 80.86%) while mixed infection was found in 29.90% population with statistically a highly significant difference (p< .01). The parasites reported in the present study with their respective prevalence rates were Ascaris suum (29.51%), Trichuris sp. (17%), Strongyles (10.79%), Fasciolopsis buski (4.46%), Strongyloides sp. (3.51%), Fasciola sp. (1.04%). Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis revealed highly significant difference (p< .01) in the prevalence rates of gastrointestinal helminths. Seasonal analysis revealed statistically highly significant difference (p< .01) among the seasons with rainy season (B=2.582, OR=13.222) to be the most conducive for the growth of gastrointestinal helminth infections. Similarly, a highly significant statistical difference was observed management wise analysis with farm animals (B= - 2.252, OR= .105) at minimum risk of infection when compared to stray animals. Zone wise and district wise analysis revealed that hot and humid conditions of district Kota (B= 3.715, OR= 41.052) in the humid south eastern plain zone of Rajasthan, provided the most favourable niche to gastrointestinal helminths of swine population in the state. Coproculture analysis revealed the higher prevalence rate of Hyostrongylus sp. to Oesophagostomum sp. Quantitative analysis in the present study presented a severe gastrointestinal parasitic infection in terms of EPG (eggs per gram of feces) for Ascaris suum 400-25,600 (5411.76 ± 984.24), Fasciolopsis buski 800-7100 (2736.36 ± 532.42) and Trichuris sp. 600-5600 (1842.85 ± 662.19).