Prevalence of Blood Protozoan parasite in Cattle of Ghorahi Sub-metropolitan City, Dang

Abstract

Blood protozoan infections are widespread in cattle and result in significant losses to the livestock industry. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of blood protozoan parasites in Ghorahi Sub Metropolitan City, Dang. A total of 150 blood samples were collected from the jugular vein of cattle between October and November 2024. The samples were examined microscopically under high-power magnification (1000x) using immersion oil at the Central Department of Zoology Laboratory in Kirtipur. Hemoparasites were found in 23.33% of cases. The most common types of these parasites were Babesia, Anaplasma, and Theileria each with different prevalence rates of 12%, 6% and 5.33% respectively. The occurrence of different blood protozoan infections in cattle was found to be statistically insignificant (χ2= 5.65, p>0.0596). Among the blood protozoan parasites identified, the age-wise prevalence of blood protozoans’ parasites, young cattle had 25.45% prevalence rate and adult cattle were found to have an infection rate of 22.10% with no significant association (χ2= 0.071325, p-value=0.7894). Sex wise prevalence of blood protozoans’ parasites showed that 19.75% of male cattle and 27.53% of female cattle showing statistically insignificant (χ2=0.86416, p=0.3526). Ward- wise prevalence of blood protozoan parasites showed 18.91% in ward 4, 21.62% in ward 8, while 24.32% in ward 12 and 28.20% in ward 16 with statistically insignificant (χ2= 1.3097, pvalue=0.7268). However, there was no regular healthcare provided to the cattle concerning blood protozoan parasites. This suggests a higher prevalence of blood parasites among the cattle in Ghorahi, Dang.