Incidence of Gastrointestinal Parasitism in Cattle in Gazipur, Bangladesh

Abstract

The present study was conducted to investigate the incidence of gastrointestinal parasitic diseases in cattle that were sick and brought to veterinary hospitals for treatment. Fecal samples were collected from the rectum and examined by direct smear method and helminths identified by the presence of characteristic eggs in the feces. This study was carried out with three age groups: calves (<1 year), young (1-3 years), and adult (>3 years) and three different consecutive seasons (winter, summer, and rainy) during the periods of January 2018 to December 2018. The highest incidence was found in infestation with Fasciola spp. (43.63%) followed by Toxocara spp. (35.75%) and Haemonchus spp. (7.87 %). The rainy season showed the highest degree of parasitic occurrence (45.55%) compared to summer (32.12%) and winter (22.42%) seasons. A higher incidence of Fasciola spp. (46.66%) was found in the rainy season whereas Toxocara spp. (45.94%) in winter and Haemonchus spp. (15.09%) in summer. The percentages of Fasciola spp. (57.14%) infection was more in adult cattle while Toxocara spp. (68.88%) were predominant in calves. A higher percentage of infection was recorded in females than in males. The results of the study provide an epidemiological forecast in the distribution of gastrointestinal parasitism in different age groups of cattle and seasonal variation of occurrence which can assist the clinicians for the diagnosis of such parasitic infections and necessary steps for prevention and control measures against them.

Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Parasite of Cattle in Ullapara Upazila, Bangladesh

“…The findings of the study showed that the parasitic infestation in the cow is more dominant than in bulls, heifers, and calves. The infestation rate based on animal categories in this study agree with the other study reported by Sarker et al (2021), Gunathilaka et al (2018), Khatun et al (2021), and Kabir et al (2018) indicated that cow is more susceptible to parasitic infestation than other animal categories. As cow has to face more stress than others animal categories during their pregnancy condition, lactation, and also in parturition and that is the high time to entry of parasites (Akter et al, 2015;Mustafa et al, 2022).…”

“…Reduced resistance in cows or transient loss of acquired immunity close to parturition, as well as inadequate nutrition availability compared to their greater requirements are the key factors for their susceptibility to parasitic infestation (Arece et al, 2007;Khan et al, 2023). The genetics, physiological condition, grazing system, ration, and also management system of cows differ from bulls, heifers, and calves and that also act as risk factors for parasitism (Khatun et al, 2021).…”

Efficacy of Locally Available Anthelmintics against Helminths of Dairy Cows in Gazipur, Bangladesh

“…This type of moderate infection deprives nutrition from dairy cows and reduces the production of meat, milk, etc. from dairy cows (Khatun et al, 2021). Thus, moderate helminth infection might cause huge economic losses for the dairy industry due to reduced earnings from dairy farms.…”

“…damages many internal organs of dairy cows including the lungs and might predispose them to secondary bacterial infections. They can transmit to the dairy calves through milk (Khatun et al, 2021). Along with diarrhoea, colic, inappetence, and weight loss, these helminths could cause intestinal obstruction and death of dairy calves.…”

An Insight into Different Strategies for Control and Prophylaxis of Fasciolosis: A Review

“…Flukicide is particularly successful in controlling most trematode infections when used strategically [30] . Triclabendazole (TCBZ) is very efficacious against all stages of flukes e.g., adults as well as the parenchymal stages of Fasciola spp.…”