ANwoha R.I.O and BEkwurike J.O.
Gastrointestinal parasites of pigs is a big constraint in the management of pigs, however paucity of information on their existence and prevalence have necessitated the research on the prevalence of gastro- intestinal parasites in intensively managed pigs in Umuahia city of Abia state. The survey lasted for 4 months from September 2010 to December 2010. Faecal samples from 15 intensive pig farms were randomly collected from a total of 300 pigs, both sex of different age brackets (Piglets 80, Winners 50, Dam 50, Sow 70 and Boar 50) and examined for the presence of helminths eggs and protozoan oocysts using saturated salt floatation technique. 300 samples examined were all positive, 290 were from apparently healthy pigs while 10 were from sick pigs. 50 out of 300 examined from one farm were recently dewormed while 250 from other farms had no recent history of deworming. The 300 positive samples were of mixed infections comprised of Globocephalus spp 205 (68%); Fasciolopsis spp150 (50%); Ascarops spp 200(67%); Shephamurus spp 150 (50%) Oesophagostomum spp 300 (100%); Trichuris trichuria 50 (17%) and Necator spp 100(33%). These infected pigs were mainly from farms without a strategic anti-parasite treatment regime. Piglets and Dams have high prevalence of Globocephalus spp (100, 100) %; Oesophagostomum (100, 100) %; Necator spp (46, 60) % and Shephamurus spp (50, 80) % respectively when compared to other age brackets. Winners have high prevalence of Trichuris trichuria (60%); Sows have high prevalence of Shephamurus (57%), Oesophagostomum spp (50%), Ascarops (86%), Fasciolopsis spp (71%). Boar maintained a low prevalence of all the gastrointestinal parasites. The prevalence of infection in undewormed pigs (92%) was high compared to recently dewormed pigs (2%). The prevalence of infection in unhealthy (70%) was relatively higher compared to healthy ones (15%). The result of this study provides a ��?base-line��? data for assessing the effectiveness of control strategies against gastro-intestinal parasitism in intensively raised pigs in Umuahia, Abia state and the presence of different types of gastrointestinal parasite in different sex and age bracket.
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