Prevalence of amphistomes in Black Bengal goats in Mymensingh district

Abstract

To investigate the prevalence of amphistome parasites in Black Bengal goats slaughtered at different slaughterhouses of Mymensingh district, a total of 144 gastro-intestinal tracts were examined during the period of July 1998 to June 1999 in the Department of Parasitology, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh. Out of 144 Black Bengal goats, 105 (72.92%) were infected with a single or multiple species of amphistomes.  In present investigation, three species of amphistomes viz Paramphistomum cervi, Cotylophoron cotylophorum and Gastrothylax crumenifer were identified. The highest infection was observed with Paramphistomum cervi (65.28%) and lowest infection with Cotylophoron cotylophorum (36.11%). Mixed infections with two or more species of amphistomes were found in 60.42%. Age had a significant (p < 0.01) influence on the prevalence of amphistomes in goat. A higher prevalence (89.58%) was observed in older animals followed by young animals (78.57%), whereas a lower prevalence (45.0%) in growing animals. However, the prevalence increased with the increase of age. The females (75.0%) were found more (1.44 times) susceptible to amphistomes infection than the males (67.5%). The prevalence of amphistomes was very high all the year round and the rate of infection was 83.64%, 69.23% and 64.0% during monsoon, winter and summer season respectively. The present study concluded that Black Bengal goats are susceptible to amphistome infection irrespective of age, sex and season of the year. So, control of these parasites is essential and the further investigation is needed, focusing on control procedures of amphistomes infection in goats.

Key Words: Amphistomes, prevalence, Black Bengal goats

DOI = 10.3329/bjvm.v4i2.1292

Bangl. J. Vet. Med. (2006). 4 (2): 103-106