Prevalence of Gastro-intestinal Parasites in Malawian local Goats and management implications.

Maxwell Chiphwanya ABSTRACT A study was carried out to monitor the health status of goats, through determination of parasitic loads, in Lungwena Extension Planning Area (EPA), Mangochi district, southern Malawi. This would guide management options to be selected and tried to enhance goat productivity. . A total of 46 and 34 clinically health goats were randomly sampled during the dry and rainy season respectively and separated into two age groups: young and adults. Fecal pellets were collected direct from the rectum, from the sampled goats once in each season. Microscopic examination of the feces proceeded to identify specific GIT parasite eggs and to quantify their numbers. Prevalence and trends in parasite occurrence were determined and effects of season and age group on GIT parasite loads were tested. Cocccidia (98%), Haemonchus (72%), Nematodirus (71%), Strongyle (65%) and Strongloides (51%) were parasites more prevalent in the area with low occurrences of Moniezia (20%), Ascaris (15%) and Trichuris (12%). Higher fecal egg counts were recorded in the rainy season than in the dry season and also in young animals than adults (p<0.05). The EPG determined signal a need for attentioattention( explicitly, what is the management implication with these results?)n in the management of the goats to counteract adverse effects GIT parasite infestation cause. Key words: goats, gastro-intestinal parasites, egg counts Correct introduction Understanding local trends in magnitude of worm burden for goat serves as a key to development of effective and rational management techniques to control gastointestinal parasites. As such, generation and development of information of prevalence of gasto-intestinal parasites in goats for a specific localities such as Lungwena, is a key to successful introduction of parasite disease control measures. Goat farmers in Lungwena identified gasto-intestinal parasites as a health problem for goats in focus group discussion of livestock component in the NUFU Health and Agriculture Multi-disciplinary Project. GIT parasites in goats cause severe losses ranging from decreased utilization of feeds in unthrifty animals to death (Scarfe, undated). A number of GIT parasites are found in goats including coccidia (a protozoan) bacteria and viruses, nematodes (roundworms), cestodes (tapeworms) and trematodes (flukes). Nematodes present the greatest potential problem and Haemonchus contortus is the most significant (Scarfe, undated). Of great importance also is the hidden cost of sub-clinical diseases GIT parasites present to the goat producer and these are likely to be enormous. For example, the cost of decreased reproductive efficiency, decreased milk and meat or fiber production, make high parasite loads a real menace to increased productivity especially for most smallholder farmers. It is appreciated though that naturally all goats have some worms but beyond certain levels the worm load can start to cause infection in the animal and these need to be checked.

Fecal egg counting is a practical, cost-effective diagnostic tool for determining parasite burden in animals (Machen et al, 1993). Continuous monitoring of parasite loads is therefore necessary because it gives a guide as to when treatment is to be administered or when to introduce other control measures. Craig (2000) argued that there is a correlation between the numbers of economically important adult nematodes and fecal egg counts in small ruminants. Evaluation of a fecal egg count may therefore preclude the animals showing clinical signs by timely treatment and institution of other appropriate remedies. INTRODUCTION GIT parasites in goats cause severe losses ranging from decreased utilization of feeds in unthrifty animals to death (Scarfe, undated). A number of GIT parasites are found in goats including coccidia (a protozoan) bacteria and viruses, nematodes (roundworms), cestodes (tapeworms) and trematodes (flukes). Nematodes present the greatest potential problem and Haemonchus contortus is the most significant (Scarfe, undated). Of great importance also is the hidden cost of sub-clinical diseases GIT parasites present to the goat producer and these are likely to be enormous. For example, the cost of decreased reproductive efficiency, decreased milk and meat or fiber production, make high parasite loads a real menace to increased productivity especially for most smallholder farmers. It is appreciated though that naturally all goats have some worms but beyond certain levels the worm load can start to cause infection in the animal and these need to be checked. Fecal egg counting is a practical, cost-effective diagnostic tool for determining parasite burden in animals (Machen et al, 1993). Continuous monitoring of parasite loads is therefore necessary because it gives a guide as to when treatment is to be administered or when to introduce other control measures. Craig (2000) argued that there is a correlation between the numbers of economically important adult nematodes and fecal egg counts in small ruminants. Evaluation of a fecal egg count may therefore preclude the animals showing clinical signs by timely treatment and institution of other appropriate remedies. However, without an understanding of regional and some local trends in the epidemiology and magnitude of the worm burden, rational control programs cannot be developed effectively. Thus the continued generation and development of information on parasite situation for specific localities will enable the successful introduction of helminth disease control measures. In Lungwena EPA, there has been introduced meat and milk goat farming as part of interventions in the NUFU Health and Agriculture Multi-disciplinary project but focus group discussion showed that health of the goats was a critical problem. So, this needed to be researched on adequately. The present study was therefore designed to determine the gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) parasite prevalence and infection levels in goats and also to determine the seasonal effects on worm loads. METHODS The study was carried out in three villages: Chapola, Chilonga and Mdala Makumba, from Lungwena EPA in Mangochi district, southern Malawi, where milk and meat goat farming has been introduced as a livestock component in the NUFU project. The first two villages lie very close to the eastern coast of the right arm of Lake Malawi whereas the latter is located slightly in the uplands. The area lies between altitude 50-1000m.a.s.l. and

receives between 780-1000mm rainfall/annum with annual temperature ranges varying from 23-25oC. Goats in the area are usually on free-range during the dry season and access dambos along the lake as well as harvested crop fields. Tethering and herding are employed in the rainy cropping season to avoid crop damage. Forty-six and thirty-four clinically health goats were randomly sampled from goat keepers from the three villages during the dry and rainy season respectively and two age groups were established: age group one had young goats up to nine months old while age group two had adult goats over nine months(the sentence is too long. Make short sentences that link the information. The 46 and 34 are for the two age groups but you the age grps very far away from the figures you mentioned. . Fecal samples were collected, once in each season, direct from the rectum into small plastic bags and tied to exclude air. The bags were stored in a refrigerator, at around 4oC, until analysis was due. The fecal pellets were then subjected to microscopic examination in the Animal Health Laboratory at Bunda College to detect specific parasite eggs using the Modified M cMaster Technique described by Hansen and Perry (1994). Egg counts for each observed parasite species were quantified and recorded as eggs per gram (EPG). The data were analyzed by was then run ina Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) to determine the prevalence rates of parasites in the area. The data werewas then transformed into natural logarithm to achieve normality, plotted on graphs to illustrate trends in worm egg occurrence between seasons and age groups. A Chi-square test was used to analyse the effect of season and age group on parasite occurrence.also run to test any effects in parasite occurrence accruing to season and age group. RESULTS
Table 1: Relative occurrence of parasites in Lungwena (EPG)

Parasite Coccidia Nematodirus Strongyle Haemonchus Strongloides Moniezia Trichuris Ascaris

MeanSD 560.552.54 407.492.19 275.432.19 271.002.04 228.952.12 139.931.59 130.321.65 114.871.34

Range 0 - 3300 0 - 2000 0 - 1300 0 - 900 0 - 2000 0 - 300 0 - 400 0 - 200

Table 2: Prevalence of GIT parasites

Parasite

Coccidia Nematodiru s Haemonchu

Sea son Dry (%) Rainy (%) 97.8 100 60.9 88.2 71.7 70.6

Age group Young (%) 100 92.5 87.5

Overall Adults (%) 97.5 52.5 55.0 (%) 98.7 72.5 71.2

s Strongyle Strongloides Moniezia Trichuris Ascaris

56.5 41.3 28.3 4.3 15.2

76.5 64.7 8.8 29.4 8.8

72.5 55 25 17.5 17.5

57.5 47.5 15.0 12.5 7.5

65.3 51.2 20.1 15.2 12.5

Fugure titles should be below the figures AND NOT on top as for tables and should end with a full stop
Fig 1: Relative mean EPG between age groups. Fig 2: Relative mean EPG between seasons.

Ascaris

co cc id ia m on ie zi a as ca ris

Nematodirus

Strongyle

Strongloides Trichuris

season age group season age group season age group season age group season age group

58 58 10 10 52 52 41 41 12 12

n = number of valid cases, ns = not significant, ** = level of significancesignificant at 5%

DISCUSSION Results obtained in this study indicate that GIT parasites predominant in goats in the Lungwena area include Coccidia, Haemonchus, Nematodirus, Strongloides and Strongyle whilst the occurrence of Moniezia, Ascaris and Trichuris is low (Tables 1 and 2). The overall prevalence rates were high for Coccidia (98%), Nematodirus (72%), Haemonchus (71%), Strongyle (65%) and Strongloides (51%). Low prevalence rates 4

hu ris st c oc ro c n g idi yl a e st mo ro n n g ie lo z ia i ne a de m sc a t ar od is i ha tri rus c

8 7 Table 3: The effect of season and age group on parasite burden 6 5 Parasite Factor n 4 Coccidia season 79 3 age group 79 2 Moniezia season 16 age group 16 1 Haemonchus season 57 0 age group 57 ln(EPG)

8 7 6 Asymptotic 5 significanc 4 e 0.216 3 0.042 2 0.33 0.042 1 0

ln (EPG)

Comment ns ** ns ** ** ** ns ns ns ns ns ns ns ns ns

tri c

parasite

para

were recorded for Moniezia (20%), Trichuris (15%) and Ascaris (12%). These findings agree with reports by Soulsby (1982) and Scarfe (undated) who indicated that Moniezia, Ascaris and Trichuris are not very common in goats unlike Coccidia, Haemonchus, Nematodirus, Strongyle and Strongloides. Results presented in Table 1 indicate that the incidence of Coccidia, Haemonchus, Nematodirus, Strongyle and Strongloides are within ranges regarded as a burden to our animals and may cause the( aforementioned maladies) you can refer the reader to previous text. The sentence should be understood on its own. State the health problema associated with such parasite burden. (Peacock, 1996). This is a signal to management of worm infestation that may negatively impact on performance of the animals. It thus calls for attention either in form of treatment or introduction of other control measures to counteract further increases in parasite numbers. For example instance, considerate use of anthelmintics is recommended alongcomplemented with with good grazing practices. Guide lines of good grazing practices like avoiding like avoiding garzing in dambos during rainy seasons and use of rotationng grazing patches is benefitial to the community. It is appreciated though that these are only guides and should not be regarded as hard and fast indicators of severe parasite infestation in the goats nor is it an indicator of serious infection. When season is considered, the general trend was that more parasites were found in the rainy season than during the dry season (Table 2 and Figure 2).The parasites which were more prevalent are Coccidia, Haemonchus, Nematodirus, Strongloides and Strongyle with low prevalence recorded for Moniezia, Ascaris and Trichuris in both seasons (Table 2). However, there was no statistical significance in occurrence (p>0.05) for most of the parasite species considered between the seasons (Table 3). This could arise because goats in this area graze in dambos close to the lake hence conditions in them are favorable for parasite survival even during the dry months of the year. Nonetheless, EPG for Nematodirus showed significant differences (p<0.05) between the two seasons. This was expected because during the rainy season the environment is conducive favoring for the development of worms thereby increasing the potential risk of parasite infestation in the grazing animals. In addition, goats are herdusually and crowded on a small space as more land is under cultivation enhancing the rate at which goats pick worm eggs or get re-infected. Further to this, Soulsby (1982) reported that Nematodirus has a relatively short pre-patent period of 2-3 weeks and that their numbers greatly increase after the rains. Pandey et al (1994) concluded that there is a direct relationship between rainfall and intensity of infection with GIT Nematodes. Similarly, Mandonett et al (2003) reported adverse effects of rainy season on the incidence of Strongyle infestation on goats and their subsequent deaths. Ayele et al (2006) also reported highest fecal worm egg counts recorded in the long rainy season (20143EPG) and the lowest worm egg counts (50EPG) were recorded in the long dry season. Considering EPG between age groups, the prevalence was relatively higher in young animals than in the adults (Table 3 and Figure 1), albeit, only Coccidia, Moniezia and Haemonchus showed significant differences (p<0.05), Table 3. The high egg countsis is suggestive that the parasites were equally established irrespective of purported resistance in the adult goatssegment. The trend in the former case can be attributed to the fact that young animals are susceptible and easily succumb to worms due to their not fully

developed immunity. Swai et al (2006) also reported similar results in Tanzania where the prevalence of GIT parasites was recorded to be higher in immature animals than the adults. The implication with the present findings is that goat management in the area should be re-aligned to focus more attention in protecting this vulnerable group from picking infection. However, the system of rearing goats in this area, which is generally free-range make efforts difficult as mixing between young vulnerable animals with the older ones, is inevitable. Since the take home messenger hidges on mgt implications, lets organize the discussion logically and bring the messange very clearly and with emphasis. CONCLUSION Most of the animals examined during the present study had low counts of Moniezia, Ascaris and Trichuris with moderate to high counts of Coccidia, Haemonchus, Nematodirus, Strongloides and Strongyle. The parasitic load in goats for the latter parasite species is such that a producer might consider treating their stock or introducing other corrective measures. Younger goats were determined to be more susceptible to GIT parasite attack than the older animals and registered higher fecal egg counts. In addition, higher fecal egg counts were recorded in goats during the rainy season than dry season. Study results suggest that, appropriate GIT parasite control approaches need to be explored and tried in order to alleviate the problem of worm burden in the present area of study. REFERENCE Ayele, G., Feseha, G., Bojia, E and Joe, A. 2006. Prevalence of gastro-intestinal parasites of Donkeys in Dugda Bora district of Ethiopia. Livestock Research for Rural development, 18(10)2006. From http://www.cipav.org.co/lrrd/lrrd18/10/edit1810.htm. Craig, T.M. 2000. Understanding Intestinal Parasites. College of Veterinary Medicine, Texas A&M University. From http://www.jackmauldin.com/fecal_testing.htm Hansen, A and Perry, B. 1994. The Epidemiology, diagnosis and control of helminth parasites of ruminants: A Handbook of ILRAD (International Livestock Research for Animal Diseases), Kenya, pp 171 Machen, R., Craddock, F., Craig, T and Fuchs, T. 1993. A Haemonchus contortus management plan for sheep and goats in Texas, Texas A&M University agricultural extension service, http://www.meatgoats.com/html Mandonett, N., Ducrocq, V., Arquet, R and Aumont, G. 2003. Mortality of Creole kids during infection with gastro-intestinal Strongyle: A survival analysis. Journal of Animal Science.2003, 81:2401-2408. Pandey, V.S., Ndao, M and Kumar, V. 1994. Seasonal prevalence of gastro-intestinal nematodes in communal land goats from the highveld of Zimbabwe. Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Veterinary Parasitology: 4,241-248.

Peacock, C .1996. 1st edition. Improving goat production in the tropics. A manual for development workers. Oxfam (UK & Ireland) in association with Farm-Africa. Scarfe, A.D. (undated). Approaches to managing gastro-intestinal nematode parasites in small ruminants, in: Meat Goat Production Handbook. From http://www.clemson.edu/agronomy/goats/handbook.html Soulsby, E.1982. Helminths, Arthropods and Protozoa of domestic animals. 7th edition, 790p. Balliere Tindall, 1st Annes Road, East Bourne, East Sussex BN21. Swai, E.S., Mtui, P.F., Mbise, A.N., Kaaya, E., Sanka, P and Loomu, P.M. 2006. Prevalence of gastro-intestinal parasite infections in Maasai cattle in Ngorongoro District, Tanzania. Livestock Research for Rural Development, 18(8)2006. From http:www.cipav.org.co/lrrd18/8/contl808.htm