Prevalence and Analysis of Risk Factors for Gastrointestinal Parasites in Beef Cattle Herds in Aranyaprathet District, Sa Kaeo Province, Thailand

A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the potential risk factors and prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) parasites in beef cattle herds from Aranyaprathet district, Sa Kaeo province, Thailand in January 2019. A total of 239 bovines according to 34 herds (1-85 animals /herd) were selected. Fresh fecal samples were collected and tested by simple flotation as well as sedimentation techniques. Structured questionnaires via phone interviews were also applied to collect herd information. As the results, the overall prevalence of intestinal parasites was 59.0% (141/239). The most frequent identified parasites were strongylids 58.2% (139/239), followed by Fasciola sp. 7.9% (19/239) and Toxocara sp. 4.2% (10/239). In addition, the majority of the infection was only one type of GI parasite with 40.2% (96/239). The possible risk factors for strongyle infection were analyzed by univariate analysis for herd level. Feeding system was significantly associated with prevalence of strongylids (P-value = 0.013). Herd size with greater than or equal to 50 animals and every-6-month deworming program showed the highest prevalence rate. The high　prevalence of GI parasitism of beef cattle in these areas might have been due to the feeding management and inadequate deworming program. Our findings serve as a baseline information for treatment and control strategies against intestinal parasites for livestock production in the future