Prevalence and factors of gastrointestinal helminth infections in cattle in Busaba sub-county Butaleja district, Eastern Uganda.

Abstract

Gastrointestinal helminthiasis is one of the major constraints of cattle production causing unthriftiness among the infected cattle leading to underperformance and depriving farmers of their economic benefits from cattle and even possess a zoonotic risk. A cross-sectional study was carried out to determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal helminthiasis in cattle in Busaba subcounty, Butaleja district, Eastern Uganda. Fecal samples were picked from 127 cattle in 25 households distributed in the four parishes of the subcounty. Using a semi-structured questionnaire, socio-demographic data was collected from the 25 households. The types of helminth eggs were determined using simple floatation method and sedimentation technique. The McMaster counting technique was used for enumeration of eggs. Descriptive statistics and chi square tests were used to analyze the data. Results showed that 91(71.7%) cattle were positive for GIT helminths. Amongst the different groups of GIT helminths found in the sampled cattle, Ascarids were the most common with the frequency of 60(65.9%), followed by Strongyles 36(28.3%), Taenia 16(12.5%), Fasciola 12(9.4%) and the least was Moniezia 05(3.9%). Out of 91 positive cattle, 32(35.2%) had mixed infections while 59 (64.8%) had single infections. Furthermore, out of the 91 cattle that tested positive for GIT helminth infections, most (71.4%) of them had a high worm burden (egg per gram >250) while the rest (28.6%) had a low worm burden (egg per gram <250). The prevalence of helminths of 86.7% for males was higher than for females (63.9%) showing significant difference at p< 0.01(p=0.024). There was no statistical significance across breed, age, body condition score (BCS) and grazing system. However, the study showed a relatively high prevalence of gastrointestinal helminthiasis in the study area when compared to other studies carried out in other parts of the country implying need to implement helminthic control strategies. Furthermore, there is need for further research using more sensitive and specific techniques for example larval culture to ascertain the helminthic species affecting the cattle.