ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Chicken nematodes are found all over the world. Ascaris and Heterakis are among the cosmopolitan chicken nematodes. In different parts of Ethiopia, these parasites have long been thought to be the leading cause of illness and loss of productivity. However, there has been little research on their burden in Gondar city; hence, this study was carried out to establish a realistic estimate of the prevalence of Ascariasis and Heterakiasis in chickens. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was undertaken in Gondar city, North West Ethiopia, from November 2019 to May 2020 to evaluate the prevalence and different related risk factors of chicken Ascaris and Heterakis infections. A total of 384 hens were tested utilizing the faecal flotation technique, with 170 native and 214 alien varieties. During the collection of faecal samples, the breed, age, production system, and feces consistency of chickens were all taken into account. RESULTS: One hundred seventy-one (44.5%) of the total (384) investigated feces tested positive for at least one of these parasite illnesses. The parasite's prevalence was influenced by age, breed, and the type of production technique used. A higher infection rate was observed in the younger (68.9%) indigenous (67.1%) chickens reared under the extensive production system (46.9%). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The prevalence of ascariasis and heterakiasis was nearly half percent in this study, even though the study was conducted in dry season, which is relatively unfavorable to parasites living in the environment and it specified only on the two common chicken ascaris nematodes. This study strongly suggested that Ascaris and Heterakis parasites were serious problems for chickens in Gondar city, and appropriate control strategies needed to be advised.
ABSTRACT
This cross-sectional study with a cluster random sampling method was undertaken from November 2018 to May 2019 to estimate the prevalence and assess the potential risk factors of T. gondii seropositivity, and to assess the association of the T. gondii seropositivity with reproductive losses in small ruminants in Northwest Ethiopia. A total of 576 blood samples from 135 small ruminant flocks were collected and assayed for T. gondii IgG antibodies using the Toxo-latex slide agglutination test. A questionnaire survey was also conducted to gather information on the potential risk factors of T. gondii seropositivity and on the status of reproductive losses in the small ruminant flocks. The study demonstrated a high flock and animal level T. gondii seroprevalence of 96.3% (95% CI: 91% - 98%) and 70.48% (95% CI: 68% - 79%), respectively. Mixed effect logistic regression analysis of the potential risk factors showed that the odds of seropositive for T. gondii was significantly higher in sheep (OR = 1.7, 95%CI: 1.19-2.46) than in goats, in adult (OR = 1.6, 95%, CI: 1.11-2.31) than in young, in the presence of cats (OR = 2, 95%CI:1.32-3.04) than in the absence of cats, in the lack of knowledge on the role of cats as a pathogen source than knowing it (OR = 1.82, 95% CI:1.21-2.77). The study also showed that the likelihoods of experiencing the abortion, neonatal death and weak birth in the previous one year in T. gondii seropositive flocks were 20.76 (95% CI: 2.2-195.1, p < 0.001), 8.90 (95% CI: 1.99-83.0, p = 0.021) and 9.33 (95% CI: 1.1-86.2, p = 0.019) times more than the seronegative flocks, respectively. In conclusion, this study revealed high flock and animal level seroprevalence of T. gondii in the small ruminant population in northwest Ethiopia, suggesting that lamb and goat might be a source of this pathogen for human infection if their infected meat is consumed undercooked or uncooked. Besides, the observed association of T. gondii seropositivity with reproductive losses may suggest the economic importance of the pathogen for the small ruminant producers. Therefore, it warrants control attention to reduce its economic and public health burden in the study areas. Further works on the economic impacts, bioassay, isolation, and genetic characterization of the pathogen are suggested.
