Prevalence of Cryptosporidia, Eimeria, Giardia, and Strongyloides in pre-weaned calves on smallholder dairy farms in Mukurwe-ini district, Kenya

Abstract

Aim:Gastrointestinal diseases are among the leading causes of calf morbidity and mortality in Kenya and elsewhere. This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidia, Eimeria, Giardia, and Strongyloides in calves on smallholder dairy farms (SDF) in Mukurwe-ini District, Nyeri County, Kenya. These infections have been associated with economic losses by decreased growth rates, decreased productivity, and increased susceptibility to other diseases.Materials and Methods:An observational study was conducted on 109 farms in Mukurwe-ini District, Nyeri County, Kenya, where 220 calf fecal samples (each calf at 4 and 6 weeks of age) from 110 calves (1 set of twins) were collected and analyzed for Cryptosporidia, Eimeria, Giardia, and helminth parasites.Results:Eimeria oocysts, Cryptosporidia oocysts, and Strongyloides eggs were detected in the fecal samples examined, but no Giardia cysts were found. The overall period prevalence of Eimeria, Cryptosporidia, and Strongyloides was 42.7% (47/110), 13.6% (15/110), and 5.4% (6/110), respectively. The prevalence at 4 weeks of age for Eimeria, Cryptosporidia, and Strongyloides was 30.0% (33/110), 8.2% (9/110), and 3.7% (4/109), respectively, while the prevalence at 6 weeks of age was 20.2% (22/109), 6.5% (7/107), and 2.7% (3/110), respectively. There was, however, no significant difference in the prevalence at 4 and 6 weeks (p>0.05).Conclusion:Findings from this study show that Eimeria, Cryptosporidia, and Strongyloides, are prevalent in the study area and indicate the need to adopt optimal management practices to control infections in calves.

Prevalencia del parasitismo gastrointestinal en bovinos del departamento Cesar, Colombia

“…Así, parásitos de los géneros Ostertagia y Dictyocalus prevalecen en climas fríos, mientras que Haemonchus y Cooperia se relacionan con climas tropicales (Quiroz et al, 2011). La alta prevalencia de parásitos gastrointestinales en este estudio (83.2%) coincide con lo señalado por Urdaneta et al Aunque la media de intensidad de infección por Eimeria sp encontrada en este estudio (530.2 opg) se considera ligera o baja (Quiroz et al, 2011), se infiere que la alta prevalencia señalada puede estar ocasionada por inmunosupresión en animales debido a factores tales como el estrés por sobrepoblación, transporte y traslados del rebaño (Shepelo et al, 2015). Igualmente, la infección por coccidias en bovinos podría deberse a su capacidad de adaptación a las diferentes condiciones climáticas, como también a un mal manejo de pastoreo y a la contaminación del agua por los animales adultos parasitados (Tamasaukas et al, 2010).…”

Nematocidial activity of aqueous solutions of plants of the families Cupressaceae, Rosaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Cannabaceae and Apiaceae

“…Rhabditida pathogens of nematodiases in mammals are most often represented by Strongyloides papillosus (Wedl, 1856). Helminthiases cause economic losses to livestock farms every year (Peter et al, 2015;Stachurska-Hagen et al, 2016;Thamsborg et al, 2017;Zazharska et al, 2018). S. papillosus is a nematode which affects the gastrointestinal tract and breathing organs (at the larva stage).…”

A Comparative Study of Four Methods for the Detection of Nematode Eggs and Large Protozoan Cysts in Mandrill Faecal Material

“…Other studies have also used flotation methods to detect protozoan cysts and oocysts of, e.g., Giardia cysts [Zajac et al, 2002], Cryptosporidia [Peter et al, 2015], or Eimeria [Zenner et al, 2002;Richard, 2012;Hu et al, 2016]. Zinc sulphate solution is known for distorting most helminth eggs.…”

“…These methods allow the detection of gastrointestinal nematodes and protozoa, and the estimation of parasite abundance within individual hosts as well as parasite prevalence [Krief et al, 2008;Kouassi et al, 2015;Lynsdale et al, 2015;Poirotte et al, 2016], albeit the adult worm burden is more difficult to assess due to many factors related to host immunity, health status, or parasite excretion rhythm, affecting the number of parasite eggs contained in host faecal material [Gillespie, 2006]. Two different techniques are commonly used for coproscopical analyses: sedimentation and flotation methods [Deluol, 1988;Kouassi et al, 2015;Peter et al, 2015;Becker et al, 2016;Chakraborty et al, 2016;Hyuga and Matsumoto, 2016]. Sedimentation techniques rely on the use of a low-density solution into which parasite forms fall.…”

“…cysts or Giardia sp. cysts [Peter et al, 2015]. Conversely, flotation methods rely on the use of dense solutions: using an appropriate specific gravity (SG in g/mL), fewer dense parasite forms may float while most of the vegetal debris falls.…”