The Prevalence, Identification and Associated Risk Factors of Gastrointestinal Nematodes of Horses and Donkeys in Selected Districts of West Shewa Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

Abstract

A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2021 to December 2022 in the Dendi, Ambo, and Toke kutaye districts of the West Shewa Zone of Oromia Regional State to measure the intensity of gastrointestinal nematodes, identify some parasite species, estimate the prevalence and associated risk factors of gastrointestinal nematodes in donkeys and horses using qualitative fecal analysis methods, and further larval cultures were performed from pooled positive samples for the identification of third-stage larvae of strongyle nematodes. A total of 384 fecal samples from both equines (222 donkeys and 162 horses) were collected and examined for the presence of parasites. Data was collected and entered into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet before being analyzed with the Statistical Package for Social Science version 25. In this study, the overall prevalence of gastrointestinal nematode parasites was 76.8% (295/384), which accounted for 83.78% and 67.28% for donkeys and horses, respectively. There was a highly significant difference in infection frequency between species (P = 0.000). The animals that fed only on pasture and lived in poor houses were at an increased risk of acquiring gastrointestinal infections. Therefore, improvements in housing and feeding management were recommended.