Assessment of intestinal parasites in goats slaughtered at Abakaliki Abattoir, Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Intestinal helminth parasites constitute a serious impediment to small scale animal production by causing high mortality and low production in flocks. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of intestinal helminthes in goats slaughtered in Abakaliki Abattoir, Ebonyi State, Nigeria between October and November 2013. Faecal samples from the duodenum of 200 goats were collected and examined for the presence of adult worms, larvae and eggs of parasitic intestinal helminthes using simple flotation method and microscopy. Different species of nematodes, cestodes and trematodes were isolated. The nematode species include Trichostrongylus sp (10.4%), Ostertagia sp (15.0%), Bonustomu sp (5.4%), Oesophagostum sp (14.5%), Oesophagostum sp (13.2%),i(15.7%), Trichiuria sp (12.1%), Strongyloides sp (10.2%) and Nematodirus sp (3.4%). The cestode species include Monieze sp (60.4%)), Taenia sp (31.3%) and Amphistomum sp (8.4%). The trematode was Fasciola hepatica (54.3%). Mixed infections occurred as Nematode/Cestodes (47.1%), Nematode/Trematode (28.9%), Cestodes/Trematode (14.5%) and Nematode/trematode (8.7%). The results therefore suggest the need for effective prevention and control of helminthes infection in goats towards ensuring high animal production and resultant zoonotic effects of these  parasites.Keywords: goats, intestinal helminth, prevalence, domestic, abbattoir