Epidemiology of Gastrointestinal Helminthes of Sheep and Goats in Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State, North Central, Nigeria

A cross sectional study was carried out to determine the prevalence of Gastrointestinal Helminthes of Sheep and Goats in Suleja Local Government Area, Niger State, Nigeria. A total of 400 faecal samples were collected from 194 Sheep and 206 Goats and analyzed using centrifugal floatation and formol ether concentration technique.  An overall prevalence of 48% was recorded.  Goats (51.94%) had the highest prevalence than Sheep (43.81%) and the difference was insignificant (P>0.05).  Sheep had the highest parasitic load of 100 and 1300 epg as compared to Goats with a parasitic load of 100 and 900 epg.  Seven gastrointestinal Helminthes were identified in the study namely: Strongyle spp (12.5%), Toxocara spp (12.75%), Strongyloides spp (14.75%), Taenia spp (4.5%), Monieza spp (2.25%), Fasciola (0.5%) and Schistosoma spp (1.25%) with Strongyloides spp having the highest prevalence (14.75%) while Fasciola spp (0.5%) had the least prevalence. Female (48.74%) and adult sheep (45.07%) had the highest prevalence than male (36%) and young sheep (40.38%) and the difference was not significant (P>0.05). Yankasa (60.97%) and non-pregnant sheep (64.06%)  had the highest prevalence  while Uda (26.63%) and pregnant Sheep (22.22%) had the least prevalence and the difference was significant (P<0.05). Male (56.52%), Young (52.86%), Sokoto red  (56.14%) and non-pregnant goats (50.72%) had the highest prevalence while female (48.25%), adult (51.47%), Sahel (46.74) and lactating Goats (42.31%) had the least prevalence and the difference was insignificant (P>0.05). The study revealed that Sheep and Goats are infected with Gastrointestinal Helminthes, hence a need for a targeted control effort.