Helminth Infections in Cattle and Goats in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, with Focus on Strongyle Nematode Infections

Gastrointestinal helminths are major enteric parasites affecting the health of important livestock ruminants, such as cattle and goats. It is important to routinely survey these animals for helminth infections to allow effective management and control programs to be implemented. A cross-sectional helminth survey carried out in Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand, revealed the infection rate of gastrointestinal helminths in cattle (n = 157) and goats (n = 117) to be 35.7% and 88%, respectively, by microscopic fecal examination, and a 100% herd prevalence was observed in goats. Eggs of strongyle nematodes, Strongyloides spp., Trichuris spp., Capillaria spp., Paramphistomum spp., and Moniezia spp. were detected, with a relatively high rate of strongyle nematode infection in both cattle (28.7%) and goats (86.3%). Mixed infections were observed in 14.3% and 35.9% of egg-positive samples from cattle and goats, respectively. Risk factor analysis showed that dairy cattle were 5.1 times more likely to be infected with strongyles than meat cattle. In contrast, meat goats were 9.3 times more likely to be infected with strongyles than dairy goats. The inverse findings in cattle and goats are discussed. Female gender was associated with a higher risk of strongyle infection in goats. DNA sequencing and in-house semi-nested PCR with primers specific to a region in the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) were successfully used to identify strongyle genera in randomly selected egg-positive cattle (n = 24) and goat (n = 24) samples. Four strongyle genera, i.e., Cooperia spp., Haemonchus spp., Oesophagostomum spp., and Trichostrongylus spp. were identified by DNA sequencing. By semi-nested PCR, Cooperia spp. were detected as a major parasite of cattle (70.8%), whereas Haemonchus spp. were abundant in goats (100%). The majority of samples from cattle (58.3%) and goats (95.8%) were found to coinfect with at least two strongyle genera, suggesting that coinfection with multiple strongyle genera was more common than single infection in these animals

Clinical haematology, biochemistry profiles and erythrocytic morphometry of confiscated Sunda pangolins (Manis javanica) in the Centre for Rehabilitation and Quarantine of Confiscated Animals, Wildlife and Alien Species, Thailand

Every year, ten thousand Sunda Pangolins (Manis javanica) are rescued and confiscated from the illegal trade around Southeast Asia, including Thailand. Most of them are usually moribund and need intensive veterinary interventions to recover their health before being released to the wild. However, a lack of reliable haematology and clinical biochemistry references for Thai confiscated Sunda pangolins is a major difficulty for reaching this goal. The aim of this study was to establish a standard panel of haematology and serum biochemistry profiles used for confiscated pangolins in Thailand. Coccygeal venepuncture of 52 confiscated pangolins was performed. Haematology and serum biochemistry data acquisitions were made using automated blood analysers. The lower and upper limits at 90% confidence interval were calculated. The means of all parameters were calculated and then compared with those in two previous studies (p < 0.005). Blood corpuscle morphometry was done manually. All blood corpuscles in females were bigger than males. There were differences of haematologic and biochemical parameters among this study and previous studies in some aspects. Wide scientific discussion was made to explain these variations. A panel of haematology and serum biochemistry profiles for Thai confiscated Sunda pangolin has been established. Veterinarians can refer to all parameters to evaluate the animals’ health and diseases