Gastrointestinal parasites are known to be some of the major limiting factors for successful and productive sheep industry all over the world. Livestock production in Lesotho relies predominantly on communal grazing which presents serious challenges for the management and control of animal diseases. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of different agroecological zones, animal age and seasonal changes on the prevalence and intensity of gastrointestinal parasites in Maseru District, Lesotho from December 2017 and November 2018. The McMaster technique was used to determine the burdens and prevalence of parasites in three agroecological zones. Three agroecological zones sampled were Lowlands, Foothills and Highlands represented by Korokoro area, Setebing and Mohale Dam area respectively. Gastrointestinal parasites had an overall prevalence of 89.2% of all sheep sampled. The prevalence of three types of gastrointestinal parasites identified and quantified in the present study were 73.3%, 61.7% and 1.9% for Eimeria spp, strongyles, and Monezia spp. respectively. Strongyles and Eimeria spp were present throughout the study period while Monezia spp were very low and absent during some winter months. Eimeria spp had the highest counts (2386.74 ± 270.71) followed be strongyles (1165.19 ± 107.33) during summer season. Agroecology did not have a significant (P > 0.05) effect on infection loads. Prevalence was significantly different (P < 0.05) between the Foothills and Highlands. Sheep age had significantly different (P < 0.05) effect on strongyles with relatively high adults counts. Eimeria spp oocysts were significantly different (P < 0.05) by agroecological zones, age and seasonality. Eimeria spp infection gravitated towards lambs than adult sheep. There was a remarked drop in oocyst output in February after weaning of lambs. There was significantly (P < 0.05) more propensity for higher infections of Monezia spp in lambs than in adults. Eimeria spp and strongyles were present in sheep the entire study period. The different factors investigated in the study had varying effects on the burdens and prevalence of gastrointestinal parasite of Merino sheep. Seasonal variations had overall significant influence on both prevalence and abundance of parasites in the study area.
| Published in | Animal and Veterinary Sciences (Volume 10, Issue 4) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.avs.20221004.12 |
| Page(s) | 83-93 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Gastrointestinal Parasites, Agroecology, Prevalence, Eimeria spp, Monezia spp, Strongyle
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APA Style
Moeketsi Solomon Phalatsi, Mats'olo Seloanyane, Mokete Motente, Mamasupha Sole, Mabusetsa Joseph Makalo, et al. (2022). Prevalence and Seasonal Abundance of Gastrointestinal Parasites of Merino Sheep in Maseru District, Lesotho. Animal and Veterinary Sciences, 10(4), 83-93. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.avs.20221004.12
ACS Style
Moeketsi Solomon Phalatsi; Mats'olo Seloanyane; Mokete Motente; Mamasupha Sole; Mabusetsa Joseph Makalo, et al. Prevalence and Seasonal Abundance of Gastrointestinal Parasites of Merino Sheep in Maseru District, Lesotho. Anim. Vet. Sci. 2022, 10(4), 83-93. doi: 10.11648/j.avs.20221004.12
AMA Style
Moeketsi Solomon Phalatsi, Mats'olo Seloanyane, Mokete Motente, Mamasupha Sole, Mabusetsa Joseph Makalo, et al. Prevalence and Seasonal Abundance of Gastrointestinal Parasites of Merino Sheep in Maseru District, Lesotho. Anim Vet Sci. 2022;10(4):83-93. doi: 10.11648/j.avs.20221004.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.avs.20221004.12,
author = {Moeketsi Solomon Phalatsi and Mats'olo Seloanyane and Mokete Motente and Mamasupha Sole and Mabusetsa Joseph Makalo and Leballo Gilbert Matsepe},
title = {Prevalence and Seasonal Abundance of Gastrointestinal Parasites of Merino Sheep in Maseru District, Lesotho},
journal = {Animal and Veterinary Sciences},
volume = {10},
number = {4},
pages = {83-93},
doi = {10.11648/j.avs.20221004.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.avs.20221004.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.avs.20221004.12},
abstract = {Gastrointestinal parasites are known to be some of the major limiting factors for successful and productive sheep industry all over the world. Livestock production in Lesotho relies predominantly on communal grazing which presents serious challenges for the management and control of animal diseases. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of different agroecological zones, animal age and seasonal changes on the prevalence and intensity of gastrointestinal parasites in Maseru District, Lesotho from December 2017 and November 2018. The McMaster technique was used to determine the burdens and prevalence of parasites in three agroecological zones. Three agroecological zones sampled were Lowlands, Foothills and Highlands represented by Korokoro area, Setebing and Mohale Dam area respectively. Gastrointestinal parasites had an overall prevalence of 89.2% of all sheep sampled. The prevalence of three types of gastrointestinal parasites identified and quantified in the present study were 73.3%, 61.7% and 1.9% for Eimeria spp, strongyles, and Monezia spp. respectively. Strongyles and Eimeria spp were present throughout the study period while Monezia spp were very low and absent during some winter months. Eimeria spp had the highest counts (2386.74 ± 270.71) followed be strongyles (1165.19 ± 107.33) during summer season. Agroecology did not have a significant (P > 0.05) effect on infection loads. Prevalence was significantly different (P Eimeria spp oocysts were significantly different (P Eimeria spp infection gravitated towards lambs than adult sheep. There was a remarked drop in oocyst output in February after weaning of lambs. There was significantly (P Monezia spp in lambs than in adults. Eimeria spp and strongyles were present in sheep the entire study period. The different factors investigated in the study had varying effects on the burdens and prevalence of gastrointestinal parasite of Merino sheep. Seasonal variations had overall significant influence on both prevalence and abundance of parasites in the study area.},
year = {2022}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Prevalence and Seasonal Abundance of Gastrointestinal Parasites of Merino Sheep in Maseru District, Lesotho AU - Moeketsi Solomon Phalatsi AU - Mats'olo Seloanyane AU - Mokete Motente AU - Mamasupha Sole AU - Mabusetsa Joseph Makalo AU - Leballo Gilbert Matsepe Y1 - 2022/07/29 PY - 2022 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.avs.20221004.12 DO - 10.11648/j.avs.20221004.12 T2 - Animal and Veterinary Sciences JF - Animal and Veterinary Sciences JO - Animal and Veterinary Sciences SP - 83 EP - 93 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2328-5850 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.avs.20221004.12 AB - Gastrointestinal parasites are known to be some of the major limiting factors for successful and productive sheep industry all over the world. Livestock production in Lesotho relies predominantly on communal grazing which presents serious challenges for the management and control of animal diseases. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of different agroecological zones, animal age and seasonal changes on the prevalence and intensity of gastrointestinal parasites in Maseru District, Lesotho from December 2017 and November 2018. The McMaster technique was used to determine the burdens and prevalence of parasites in three agroecological zones. Three agroecological zones sampled were Lowlands, Foothills and Highlands represented by Korokoro area, Setebing and Mohale Dam area respectively. Gastrointestinal parasites had an overall prevalence of 89.2% of all sheep sampled. The prevalence of three types of gastrointestinal parasites identified and quantified in the present study were 73.3%, 61.7% and 1.9% for Eimeria spp, strongyles, and Monezia spp. respectively. Strongyles and Eimeria spp were present throughout the study period while Monezia spp were very low and absent during some winter months. Eimeria spp had the highest counts (2386.74 ± 270.71) followed be strongyles (1165.19 ± 107.33) during summer season. Agroecology did not have a significant (P > 0.05) effect on infection loads. Prevalence was significantly different (P Eimeria spp oocysts were significantly different (P Eimeria spp infection gravitated towards lambs than adult sheep. There was a remarked drop in oocyst output in February after weaning of lambs. There was significantly (P Monezia spp in lambs than in adults. Eimeria spp and strongyles were present in sheep the entire study period. The different factors investigated in the study had varying effects on the burdens and prevalence of gastrointestinal parasite of Merino sheep. Seasonal variations had overall significant influence on both prevalence and abundance of parasites in the study area. VL - 10 IS - 4 ER -
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