Prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites infestation in sheep of Thi-Qar Province, Iraq

Abstract EN

A total of 523 fecal samples of sheep were collected randomly during 1 year of study period and submitted to the laboratory tests in Thi-Qar veterinary hospital from various districts.

Those samples were examined for the confirmation of endoparasitic infection.

Our study aims to investigate the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites and identify their species in sheep of Thi-Qar province in Iraq.

The period of study was involved the four seasons of the year.

Autumn, Spring, winter and summer.

Faecal samples examined for helminths ova by direct microscopic examination, using light microscope, sedimentation and floatation techniques.

Identification was made on the basis of morphology and size of ova.

The present study revealed that 227(42.25% ) of samples infected by gastrointestinal parasites from total(523), Among submitted samples there were 154 (67.84% ) sample infected with single parasite and 73(31.27% ) sample were infected with more than one parasite.

The gastro intestinal parasites observed in our study includes; Fasciola.

spp.

52(22.46% ), Moneizia spp.

43(18.94% ), Ascaris 42(18.06% ), Ostertagia 28(12.33% ), Strongylus 24(10.57% ), Nematodirus 19(8.37% ), Toxocara 16(7.04% ), and Paramphistpmum 3(1.32% ) in sheep.

The seasonal occurrence of parasitic infestation in sheep depicted higher infection of GIT parasites in Autumn(60.19% ), spring(59.39% ) followed by winter(50.46% ) and summer(24% ).

from this study we concluded that the prevalence of GIT parasite infection is high in Thi-Qar province.