GASTROINTESTINAL PARASITES OF DUCK (Cairina moschata) REARED AT THE EXPERIMENTAL FARM OF THE CENTER FOR RESEARCH IN ECOLOGY, ABIDJAN, CÔTE D'IVOIRE

Abstract

Gastrointestinal nematodes are important parasitic infections that may affect poultry health and production. A coproscopic study was conducted on 80 adult ducks (40 males and 40 females) raised under a semi-intensive system at the experimental farm of the Center for Research in Ecology (CRE) in Treichville, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. Individual faecal samples were examined using sedimentation, flotation, and egg-counting techniques (McMaster method). Three nematode egg morphotypes were detected, corresponding to Ascaridia sp., Trichuris sp., and eggs morphologically compatible with Trichostrongylus, with an overall prevalence of 13.75% (11/80 birds). Prevalence was numerically higher in males (17.5%) than in females (10.0%), but this difference was not statistically significant (Fisher's exact test, p = 0.518). Trichostrongylus-compatible eggs were detected exclusively in males (17.5% vs 0%), and this sex-related distribution was statistically significant (p = 0.0117). Among positive ducks, egg excretion intensity followed the opposite pattern: females excreted significantly more eggs than males for both Ascaridia sp. (median 619 vs 368 EPG; Mann–Whitney exact test, p = 0.0238) and Trichuris sp. (median 586.5 vs 334 EPG; p = 0.00606), whereas total egg excretion per duck did not differ significantly between sexes (median 1,155.5 vs 1,020 EPG; U = 9.0, p = 0.412). Prevalence and excretion intensity can therefore vary independently, and at times in opposite directions, between sexes. These data provide a baseline for gastrointestinal nematodes in ducks raised under semi-intensive conditions in Côte d'Ivoire and point to the value of regular coproscopic monitoring, with prevalence and intensity reported separately, for parasite surveillance.