Prevalence of non-strongyle gastrointestinal parasites of horses in Riyadh region of Saudi Arabia

AbstractThis study aimed to provide recent data on the occurrence of non-strongyle intestinal parasite infestation in horses in the Riyadh region of Saudi Arabia as a basis for developing parasite control strategies. We conducted necropsy for 45 horses from September 2006 to November 2007 in the Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia. 39 out of 45 horses were infected with intestinal parasites with an infestation rate of 86.6%. Infestations with seven nematode species and two species of Gasterophilus larva were found. The most prevalent parasites were Strongyloides westeri (64.4%) and Parascaris equorum (28.8%) followed by Habronema muscae (22.2%). Trichostrongylus axei and Oxyuris equi were less common at (11.1%) and (8.8%), respectively. Habronema megastoma and Setaria equine were found in two horses only (4.4%). Gasterophilus intestinalis larvae were recovered from 39 horses (86.6%) and Gasterophilus nasalis larvae were found in 17 horses (37.7%). Season had a significant effect on the prevalence of P. equorum and G. nasalis, while age of horses had a significant effect only on the prevalence of P. equorum. The husbandry in Saudi Arabia appears to be conductive to parasites transmitted in stables or by insects rather than in pasture

Seroprevalence of Neospora spp. in horses from Central Province of Saudi Arabia

From October 2010 to May 2011, blood samples were collected from 229 healthy horses from six different regions of the Central Province of Saudi Arabia. Sera were tested for Neospora spp. antibodies by a competitive inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and confirmed by an indirect fluorescent antibody test. 23 horses out of 229 (10%) reacted positively to Neospora antibodies in competitive-inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; five of them had ≥50% inhibition. Samples were confirmed with indirect fluorescence test (IFAT) test and only two samples were positive with final titers of 50 and 100, while other samples were negative. This study is the first investigation to determine Neospora spp. in horses from semi arid areas in Saudi Arabia which indicates that horses in Saudi Arabia are exposed to this parasite.Keywords: Horse, Neospora caninum, competitive-inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA), indirect fluorescence test (IFAT), Saudi ArabiaAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(9), pp. 982-98