Dӧhne Agricultural Development Institute, Private Bag X 15, Stutterheim, 4930, South Africa.
Department of Livestock and Pasture Science, Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of Fort Hare, Private Bag x 1314, Alice, 5700, South Africa.
Parasitol Res. 2020 Dec;119(12):4169-4175. doi: 10.1007/s00436-020-06927-6. Epub 2020 Oct 16.
Nematodes and coccidia are major pathogens causing parasitic infections in livestock production. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and seasonality of gastrointestinal helminths and coccidia in communal sheep grazing in humid, semi-humid and arid zones of the Eastern Cape Province. A total of 3299 faecal samples were collected from sheep between January 2012 and December 2015. Of the collected roundworm species (faecal eggs and faecal cultures), Haemonchus contortus was the only species found. The prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites was significantly higher in the humid zone (H. contortus 81% and coccidia 37%), followed by a semi-humid zone (H. contortus 75% and coccidia 22%) and the arid zone was the lowest (H. contortus 71% and coccidia 14%). Haemonchus contortus had significantly higher faecal egg counts (FEC) during spring (1465.73 ± 143.56) and summer (1418.73 ± 160.73) and the lowest during autumn (496.67 ± 219.13) and winter (352.05 ± 164.44) in all agro-ecological zone. The humid zone had significantly higher FEC in seasonal occurrence of H. contortus and coccidia compared with other agro-ecological zones (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) observed in the seasonal occurrence of H. contortus species in arid zone. Surprisingly, higher coccidia counts (352.17 ± 43.58) during 2012 winter season in humid zone and in summer season (0.00 ± 559.72) of 2013 in the semi-humid zone than other agro-ecological zones. However, agro-ecological zone differences and seasonal variations had an influence on H. contortus and coccidia distribution and abundance. This study confirms that helminths and coccidia are major causative agents causing parasitic infections in livestock production, and therefore, good animal health management practices including proper hygiene should be followed to prevent parasitic infection in small ruminants.
线虫和球虫是引起家畜寄生虫感染的主要病原体。本研究旨在确定东开普省潮湿、半湿润和干旱地区公共放牧绵羊的胃肠道蠕虫和球虫的流行率和季节性。2012 年 1 月至 2015 年 12 月期间，共从绵羊收集了 3299 份粪便样本。在所收集的圆线虫种类（粪便卵和粪便培养物）中，仅发现捻转血矛线虫。胃肠道寄生虫的流行率在潮湿地区（捻转血矛线虫 81%和球虫 37%）显著较高，其次是半湿润地区（捻转血矛线虫 75%和球虫 22%），干旱地区最低（捻转血矛线虫 71%和球虫 14%）。捻转血矛线虫的粪便卵计数（FEC）在春季（1465.73±143.56）和夏季（1418.73±160.73）最高，秋季（496.67±219.13）和冬季（352.05±164.44）最低，在所有农业生态区均如此。与其他农业生态区相比，潮湿区的捻转血矛线虫和球虫季节性发生的 FEC 显著更高（P<0.05）。在干旱区，捻转血矛线虫的季节性发生没有显著差异（P>0.05）。令人惊讶的是，2012 年冬季潮湿地区的球虫计数较高（352.17±43.58），2013 年夏季半湿润地区的球虫计数为 0.00±559.72，高于其他农业生态区。然而，农业生态区差异和季节性变化影响了捻转血矛线虫和球虫的分布和丰度。本研究证实，蠕虫和球虫是引起家畜寄生虫感染的主要病原体，因此，应遵循良好的动物健康管理措施，包括适当的卫生措施，以防止小反刍动物的寄生虫感染。
Zotero 插件