Prevalence of parasitic infections in slaughtered cattle from selected abattoirs in South Eastern States of Nigeria

Abstract

Cattle production is greatly constrained by parasitic infection, which hampers its welfare and productivity and poses a serious public health concern to the general populace. This study investigates the various cattle parasites and other study parameters. A total of eighty (80) faecal and blood samples were collected from cattle at selected abattoirs in both Anambra and Enugu State, Eastern Nigeria and analysed for haemoparasites and intestinal parasites using thick films and Stoll’s technique, respectively, and their different body parts were also examined for the presence of ectoparasites. The Chi-square test was employed to determine the possible association between parasite prevalence, sexes, breed, locations, and predilection sites. The results from the study show that the highest prevalence for ectoparasites recovered was from Amblyomma variegatum with 38.80% (31/80) whereas among the intestinal parasites recovered from the study, Trichostrongylus spp had the highest prevalence of 41.30% (33/80). No haemoparasite was recovered from the cattle in this study. Prevalence according to sex revealed that female cattle with 80.6% showed a higher prevalence of intestinal parasites compared to their male counterparts with 69.4%, but without significant differences (p<0.05). Breed-specific prevalence revealed that the Red Fulani/Bororo and Sokoto Gudali recorded the highest prevalence of intestinal parasites (100.0%) while Red Bororo had the least prevalence of 25%. Statistical analysis showed significant differences (p<0.05, 0.017) in the prevalence in relation to the species breed. There was a significant difference (p<0.05, 0.012) in parasite prevalence among the abattoirs, with Amansea having 90% and Kwata with 80% recording the highest prevalence for intestinal parasites. The findings of this study demonstrate a high prevalence of intestinal and ectoparasitic infections in cattle, underscoring the need for routine meat inspection, improved abattoir management and parasite control practices, and the implementation of a sustainable Preventive One Health Intervention (POHI) to reduce the risk of zoonotic disease transmission and outbreaks.