Prevalence and Risk Factors of Gastrointestinal Parasites in Pigs in Tikapur Municipality, Kailali, Nepa

Abstract

Pig (Sus scrofa domesticus), an important species of domestic livestock, is generally affected by helminth and protozoan parasites. This study was conducted to find out the prevalence of gastrointestinal in pigs reared in commercial and smallholder farms in Tikapur Municipality, Kailali, Nepal. A total 200 fecal samples were collected, among them 100 samples were from commercial farm and 100 samples were smallholder farms. The collected samples were examined to detect the presence of gastrointestinal parasite by direct wet mount, flotation and sedimentation techniques, and acid-fast stain was used for the identification of coccidian parasites. The parasites were identified morphologically under microscope. The result demonstrated the overall 86.5% samples were infected with one or more species of parasite. Three species of protozoan were recorded, namely Eimeria spp. (26%), Entamoeba coli (25.5%) and Coccidia (29%). Also, five species of helminthes parasite were identified like, Strongyles (66%), Ascaris suum (32.5%), Trichusris suis (30%), Fasciola spp. (17.5%), Strongyloides (17.5%). Male farmers were mostly engaged towards pig rearing. There was significant difference between owner's education (P<0.05) and annual income (p<0.05) in prevalence of intestinal parasite in pigs of commercial farm and smallholder farms. The prevalence of gastrointestinal parasite in relation to style of rearing and gender of pigs were analyzed. Data revealed that there was no significant (P>0.05) difference in parasitic infection among commercial and smallholder farms. Similarly, no significant (P>0.05) different observed in infection rate between male and female pigs.