Prevalence of Gastro-Intestinal Parasites of Spotted Deer (Axis Axis Erxleben, 1777) in Shuklaphata National Park, Kanchanpur, Nepal.

Abstract

Spotted deer (Axis axis) as a least concern species (International Union for Conservation of Nature) are conserved in Shuklaphata National park, Kanchanpur district. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in spotted deer of Shuklaphata National park, Kanchanpur district. A total of 150 fresh faecal samples were collected from the grassland of SNP and microscopically examined using proper concentration methods (sedimentation and floatation techniques) in the laboratory of central department of zoology. The result revealed that the overall prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites was 98%. Out of them, helminthes infection (79.31%) was found comparatively more common than the protozoan infection in spotted deer. Among helminthes, high prevalence was found for nematode (51.99%) followed by trematode (27.32%) and protozoan (18.66%) however, no cestodes were recorded during the study. Spotted deer of SNP were found to be infected with eight different species of parasites which includes, Eimeria sp. (with micropyle 8% and without micropyle 10.66%) among protozoans; Paramphistomum sp. (10.66%) and Fasciola sp. (16.66%) among trematodes; Trichostrongylus sp. (10%), Bunustomum sp. (8%), Haemonchus sp. (10%), Strongyloides sp. (23.33%) and Mullerius sp. (0.66%) among nematodes. Among identified nematodes, Strongyloides sp. revealed highest prevalence in spotted deer. During the study, four types of infection were recorded, single (14.96%), double (34.01%), triple (30.61%) and multiple (20.4%). Out of them, double infection were found to be more prevalent. In single infection, it was observed that most of deer were infected with Strongyloides sp. while in mixed infection most of them were infected with Eimeria sp. and Strongyloides sp. In this study, intensity of parasites suggests light infection is prevalent than that of heavy infection. The study indicated that spotted deer of SNP were found to be highly infected with different types of parasites, which could be prevented by adopting the best preventive and control measures against the identified parasites in order to conserve spotted deer.