Epidemiological Study of Small Ruminant Gastrointestinal Helminthosis in Borana Lowlands, Southern Oromia, Ethiopia

Abstract

Epidemiological survey of gastrointestinal (GI) helminthes parasites in small ruminant in four districts (Arero, Moyale, Teltele and Yabello) of Borana lowland, Southern Oromia, was conducted during the period of October 2016 to June 2017 to estimate the prevalence, to identify the species of parasite involved and to access the risk factors of GI helminthes parasites in small ruminant. For this study a total of 939 faecal samples (655 sheep and 284 goats) were collected directly from the rectum and examined based parasitological procedures. In this study an overall prevalence of helminthosis was 597 (63.6%) in small ruminants whereas 423 (64.6%) in sheep and 174 (61.3%) in goats harbor one or more GI helminthes parasites. Strongyles were the most prevalent parasites observed. The prevalence is higher in Moyale (70.8%), followed by 66%, 60.5%, and 47.1% in Yabello, Arero and Teltele respectively. The occurrence of helminthosis in the four districts was found statistically significant (P 0.05). Breed and Sex was also not significantly (P>0.05) associated with the occurrence of small ruminant helminthosis. The study indicates that helminthes parasites are the major constraints that affect productivity of small ruminant. Awareness creation to the pastoralists in the study area about the effect of small ruminant helminthosis and designing appropriate control methods has a paramount importance to improve the productivity of small ruminant.