Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Parasites in Small Ruminants in Jarra East District, the Gambia

Abstract

Gastrointestinal (GIT) parasites infestation is a major problem for animal health that causes major economic losses, particularly in the tropics and sub-tropical countries, like The Gambia. The prevalence of GIT parasites on small ruminant livestock was assessed from selected villages in Jara East District of The Gambia. 320 small ruminant fecal samples (160 sheep and 160 goats) were collected for qualitative fecal examination. Descriptive analysis of the collected data was done using IBM SPSS version 23. The results revealed an overall prevalence of 277 (86.0%) in the small ruminants. The number of goats that were infested with GIT parasites eggs was more compared to sheep (141 goats vs 136 sheep). 10 different GIT parasitic eggs were identified. The GIT parasites were more prevalent in
the poor body condition animals followed by the medium and the least GIT parasite infection was in the good body conditioned animals. However, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of GIT parasites between the villages, sex, age, and species of animals. This study showed that GIT prevalence in sheep and goats was above 80% with more than 60% of the animals infected with more than one type of GIT parasite worm egg. Hence, effective strategic treatment and public awareness creation should be instituted in the study area and such study should be done in other areas of the country.