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The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence and distribution of gastrointestinal helminths, to detect the presence of anthelmintic resistance in livestock from small-scale farms and to determine the level of helminthosis awareness among small-scale farmers in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Blood and faecal samples were collected from cattle (n = 314), sheep (n = 256) and goats (n = 311). Faecal egg counts and cultures were done, helminth genera identified and packed cell volume was assessed to detect anaemia. A faecal egg count reduction test was used to determine anthelmintic resistance against albendazole (7.5 mg/kg), levamisole (5 mg/kg) and ivermectin (0.2 mg/kg) on five small ruminant farms. A high prevalence of both nematodes and trematodes was observed; however, only 1 % of cattle had high nematode egg counts compared to goats (30 %) and sheep (32 %). Only 5 % of the animals were anaemic. Haemonchus and Calicophoron were the most dominant helminth genera in the studied ruminants. Anthelmintic resistance was detected against the three tested drugs on all the screened farms, except against albendazole and levamisole in sheep from Hammanskraal and Nigel, respectively. About 88 % of interviewed farmers were aware of veterinary helminthosis, 67 % treated against helminths and 83 % provided their livestock with nutritional supplements. This study showed that a high prevalence of helminthosis and anthelmintic resistance does occur in the study area, thus relevant strategic interventions are recommended.

The purpose of the study was to record and determine intensities, seasonal incidence and distribution of helminth parasites of veterinary importance that occur in cattle, sheep and goats in the northeastern Free State. The study was conducted at Harrismith and Kestell and in Qwa-Qwa from March 2000 to May 2001. Cattle of various breeds (including Bonsmara, Simmentaler and Friesian), Merino sheep and Angora goats were sampled. Faecal samples were analysed using the McMaster and Visser sieve techniques for egg counts and faecal cultures for 3rd-stage nematode larvae identification. Haemonchus and Oesophagostomum were the dominant nematode genera found to be infecting the animals. The socioeconomic status of the farmers in the study area was determined through a questionnaire survey aimed at recording their management strategies. It indicated that 81 % of farmers take care of their livestock by feeding them with supplements. The low to moderate faecal egg counts from cattle showed that helminth infections in this region are still under control even though helminthosis seems to be a problem in small-stock, since EPG counts of more than >1000 were found. Cattle farmers in this region are encouraged to continue with good animal husbandry practices that have ensured that helminth infections rates are kept low. Small-stock farmers are, however, encouraged to control helminth infections in their sheep and goats by anthelmintic treatment

The majority of rural households in developing countries own village chickens that are reared under traditional scavenging systems with few inputs and exposure to various parasitic infestations. Understanding of the village chicken farming system and its influence on helminth infestation is a prerequisite for optimal prevention and control strategies. This study investigated the village chicken production system and associated gastrointestinal parasites in 87 households from Limpopo (n = 39) and KwaZulu-Natal (n = 48) provinces of South Africa. A total of 191 village chicken faecal samples and 145 intestines were collected to determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in villages of Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, respectively. The faecal floatation analysis of samples from Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal provinces indicated infestations by Ascaridia galli (18.77%), Heterakis gallinarum (15.56%) and Capillaria spp. (4.00%); tapeworms Choanotaenia infundibulum (2.10%) and Raillietina cesticillus (6.00%) and Eimeria spp. (29.46%). Mixed infestations were observed in five (4.90%) samples from Limpopo province and in only four (4.49%) from KwaZulu-Natal province, of which 1.12% were a mixture of C. infundibulum and Eimeria spp. and 3.37% a combination of H. gallinarum and Eimeria spp. In Limpopo, 2.94% of the chickens were positive for H. gallinarum and Eimeria spp., whilst 0.98% had A. galli and Capillaria spp. infestations. Further investigation is needed to understand the impact of gastrointestinal parasites on village chicken health and production and develop appropriate intervention and control strategies feasible for small-holder farmers.

Two hundred and thirty-nine cattle from Gauteng Province in South Africa were tested for various pathogens causing reproductive diseases including bovine viral diarrhoea/mucosal disease (BVD/MD) virus, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis/infectious pustular vulvovaginitis (IBR/IPV) virus, Neospora caninum and Brucella abortus using various tests. For BVD/MD virus, 49.37 % tested positive, 74.47 % for IBR/IPV virus, 8.96 % for Neospora caninum and 3.8 % for Brucella abortus. The result for Brucella abortus is higher than the national average, possibly due to the small sample size. A high seroprevalence of antibodies to both BVD/MD virus and IBR/IPV virus was evident. These 2 viruses should be considered, in addition to Brucella abortus, when trying to establish causes of abortion in cattle. The clinical significance of Neospora caninum as a cause of abortion in Gauteng needs further investigation. One hundred and forty-three bulls were tested for Campylobacter fetus and Trichomonas fetus, and a low prevalence of 1.4 % and 2.1 % respectively was found in this study. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Babesia bovis and Babesia bigemina are tick-borne hemoparasites causing babesiosis in cattle worldwide. This study was aimed at providing information about the occurrence and geographical distribution of B. bovis and B. bigemina species in cattle from Gauteng province, South Africa. A total of 268 blood samples collected from apparently healthy animals in 14 different peri-urban localities were tested using previously established nested PCR assays for the detection of B. bovis and B. bigemina species-specific genes encoding rhoptry-associated protein 1 (RAP-1) and SpeI-AvaI restriction fragment, respectively. Nested PCR assays revealed that the overall prevalence was 35.5% (95% confidence interval [CI]=± 5.73) and 76.1% (95% CI=± 5.11) for B. bovis and B. bigemina, respectively. PCR results were corroborated by sequencing amplicons of randomly selected samples. The neighbor-joining trees were constructed to study the phylogenetic relationship between B. bovis and B. bigemina sequences of randomly selected isolates. Analysis of phylogram inferred with B. bovis RAP-1 sequences indicated a close relationship between our isolates and GenBank strains. On the other hand, a tree constructed with B. bigemina gp45 sequences revealed a high degree of polymorphism among the B. bigemina isolates investigated in this study. Taken together, the results presented in this work indicate the high incidence of Babesia parasites in cattle from previously uncharacterised peri-urban areas of the Gauteng province. These findings suggest that effective preventative and control measures are essential to curtail the spread of Babesia infections among cattle populations in Gauteng.

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