Seasonal Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Helminths in Goats in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

The present study was carried out to investigate the prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths (GI) parasite in goat and its associated determinants (season, age and sex) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Helminth prevalence was found to be 67.6% in the present research with significantly high nematode infestations (65.1%), followed by trematode (18.3%) andcestode (12.7%).The prevalence rate of different helminth species varied significantly (p ≤ 0.05) and it was reported that the highest infestation rate was found due to Haemonchus sp. (62.3%), followed by Trichuris sp. (56.3%), Oesophagostomum sp. (36.1%), Bunostomum sp. (27.9 %), Paramphistomum sp. (18.3%), and Moneizia sp. (12.7%). A significant (p ≤ 0.05) variation in the prevalence rate was detected during monsoon (84.7%) followed by summer (67.7%) and winter (50.4%). Age wise prevalence indicated younger goats significantly (p ≤ 0.05) more susceptible (87.5%) than adults (51.3%), whereas in case of gender-wise prevalence significant (p ≤ 0.05) difference was observed and it was found that females were more prone to the infestation (74.2%) than males (59.6%). The present study revealed that the seasonal variation with associated determinants plays a prominent role in the prevalence of GI helminths of the animals; hence thereis an urgent need for proper grazing management and routine prophylactic treatment of goat livestock.