Haemoparasites and Polyparasitism of Intestinal Helminths among Cattle Slaughtered in Selected Abattoirs in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Background: Haemoparasites and intestinal helminths are significant constraints to livestock production resulting in substantial economic loss, and some helminth parasites of cattle are of serious public health concern. This study investigated the prevalence of haemoparasites and polyparasitism of intestinal helminths amongst cattle slaughtered in two major abattoirs of Abeokuta metropolis and their implications for public health. Methods: Blood and faecal samples were randomly collected from 256 cattle less than two and greater than two years of age. Blood samples were screened for Packed Cell Volume (PCV) using the haematocrit centrifuge technique and parasites were detected by microscopy using a wet mount, buffy coat and stained thin smear. Helminth eggs and oocysts were detected using centrifugal sedimentation and centrifugal faecal flotation method. Results: Results showed prevalence for Trypanosoma spp., Babesia spp., Anaplasma spp. and Theileria spp. to be 8.3%, 27.34%, 20.7% and 0.39%, respectively. For intestinal parasites, the prevalence for Strongyle eggs is 73.82%, Neoascaris vitulorum 0.8%, Fasciola spp. 10.15%, Moniezia spp. 4.3%, Eimeria oocyst 35.94% and Cryptosporidium oocyst was 1.17%. The total prevalence of coinfection of haemoparasite and intestinal helminths was 42.6%. Breed-specific prevalence for co-infection of haemoparasites and intestinal parasites showed 55.96%, 37.6% and 6.4% for White Fulani, Red Bororo and Sokoto Gudali, respectively which was statistically insignificant (p > 0.05). With regards to sex, females had a higher prevalence of 92 (84.4%) of coinfection of haemoparasites and intestinal helminths than males 17 (15.6%), which was statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: This study revealed a high prevalence of haemoparasites and intestinal parasites in cattle slaughtered in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Therefore, the study recommends strict compliance with meat inspection at abattoirs and the need for immediate operationalisation and implementation of a sustainable Preventive One Health intervention to mitigate against the outbreak of zoonoses in Abeokuta.