Prevalence Of Gastrointestinal Helminths Of Cattle Slaughtered At Umuahia Central Abattoir

ABSTRACT

The prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites of cattle was studied using floatation technique. Three hundred and twenty-eight (328) faecal samples from trade cattle slaughtered at the Umuahia central abattoir in Abia state were examined. Sixteen (16) helminth parasite species were identified in the study. The parasites identified were nematodes (59.9%), trematodes (36.9%) and cestode the least (3.35%). The male cattle showed higher trematode (39.8%) and Cestode (3.66%) while Nematode infection was higher in female cattle (67.1%). Mixed infections were encountered in 13 (3.96%) of the 328 cattle examined. The result of this study reveals that intestinal helminths are quite high in the study and also zoonotic infection may seem possible as a result of Fasciola and Schistosoma species identified.