Tick infestations and gastrointestinal helminthosis among goats and cattle at abattoirs in Abakaliki Metropolis, Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Parasitism and parasitosis constitute serious animal health problems that predispose them to other more serious health conditions. Such conditions can reduce their productivity and marketability, thereby reducing their economic values. A total of 126 livestock comprising 63 goats and 63 cattle from abattoirs in Abakaliki Metropolis were subjected to ectoparasitic and gastrointestinal parasitic examinations, using approved standard diagnostic parasitological techniques. The recovered parasites were identified with standard identification guides. Rhipicephalus sanguineus and R. microplus were the two recovered ectoparasites from both groups of animal. There was no significant difference (p = 0.0859) in the prevalence of the tick species between the animals. Dictyocaulus species was the most abundant gastrointestinal helminth infecting both goats and cattle. There was no complete dominance of parasite species infecting the two groups of animal but the Shannon-Weiner diversity index indicated high parasite diversity for both goats and cattle. Periodic application of efficacious acaricides mixed (sequential) grazing and regular deworming with the use of strategic broad spectrum chemotherapeutic anthelmintics are strongly recommended.Keywords: Cattle; goats; helminthes; infestations; tick

Transmission Dynamics of Urogenital Schistosomiasis in the Rural Community of Ebonyi State, South Eastern Nigeria

This study accessed the dynamics of urogenital schistosomiasis transmission in Nkalagu Community. A total of 500 mid-day urine samples were collected and transported to Microbiology Laboratory, Ebonyi State University, for analysis. 10ml each of the urine samples was centrifuged at 2500 rpm for 5 minutes. Transmission potential of snail intermediate host of Schistosomes collected from different sampling station at the transmission sites within the study community was equally accessed. The snail species collected were placed individually into a clean beaker with little quantity of water and then subjected to shedding light for 2 hours. Data obtained were entered in excel spread sheet and analyzed using chi square test. The result obtained shows that 205 (41%) out of 500 individuals examined were excreting S. haematobium ova in their urine. The highest prevalence of infection (23%) was found among 11-20-year age groups. Males were more infected (25.4%) than their female counterparts (15.6%), although this was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). A total of 283 snails belonging to two Bulinus species (B. globosus and B. truncatus) were collected from the four sites sampled. Bulinus globosus recorded the highest species abundance (177) with the highest occurrence in site A. 52 (18.4%) out of 283 snails collected were infected with cercariae, and the highest cercariae infection (12.0%) was recorded among B. globosus. With prevalence of 41% among the human population and the prevalence of 18.4% patent infection among the snail intermediate hosts, urogenital schistosomiasis is still a public health problem in the study area and falls within the WHO classification of endemic area. Public health campaign is recommended in order to educate the people on the mode of transmission and control of the disease