Prevalence of pulmonary parasitic infection in goats of Mymensing

Abstract

Pulmonary parasitic infections in goats are of considerable economic importance. The parasites cause chronic production losses as a result of reduce food conversion ratio (FCR) and weight gain. To investigate the prevalence of pulmonary parasites of goat, a total of 45 lungs were examined from Mymensingh Sadar during the period January to May, 2014 by using sedimentationn and Baermann technique. Lung examination revealed that 64% animals were infected with pulmonary parasites irrespective of age and sex. In this study, Dictyocaulus sp. (8.9%), hydatid cysts (11.1%) and aberrant parasites such as Schistosoma indicum (11.1%), Fasciola gigantica (2.2%), Paramphistomum cervi (4.4%) were identified. In the age groups, higher prevalence was found in >6 yrs (71.4%) than 4-6yrs (64.3%) and <4 yrs (62.5%). Female was 1.74 times more susceptible to pulmonary parasitic infections than male but the difference was not found statistically significant. It is suggested that goats are susceptible to pulmonary parasitic infections in Mymensingh Sadar, Which may have serious effect. Therefore, detail epidemiological studies are needed for planning effective control strategies against pulmonary parasitic infections in goats.