Prevalence of gastrointestinal parasitic infections in sheep of a coastal belt under Noakhali district, Bangladesh

Abstract

Gastrointestinal (GI) parasitic infection is considered one of the major concerns in sheep production in Bangladesh. The current study was undertaken to determine the GI parasitic infections in sheep reared in bathan area and semi-intensive conditions of six (6) randomly selected areas of Subarnachar upazila under Noakhali costal belt. A total of 200 fecal samples were collected and examined to detect the ova of GI parasites using routine coproscopical tests (e.g. direct smear, sedimentation and flotation). Results demonstrated that the overall prevalence of GI infections in sheep was found 79.50%, where infections caused by trematodes were the highest in comparison to cestode and nematodes. The frequency of GI parasites were more common in all the study areas where the higher prevalence was recorded in Char Clark, Char Jabbar and Char Bata which ranged around 82-84% compared to other areas. Further, sheep reared in bathan areas (82.66%) were found to be more susceptible to GI parasitic infections compared to sheep kept on semi-intensive condition (77.60%). Furthermore, the occurrence of GI parasites was significantly higher in female sheep compared to male. The present study documented the occurrence of GI parasites which might reduce the production performance of the animals of that coastal belt. We recommend further extensive study for molecular detection of such parasitic infections including growing awareness among sheep owners to prevent and control of those infections.