Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Parasites in Cattle at Keraniganj Upazila, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

Background: Cattle play a crucial role in the agricultural economy of Bangladesh, serving as a primary source of livestock for both farming and dairy production. Gastrointestinal parasitism is a world-wide concern in cattle. The objective of this study was to investigate the gastrointestinal parasite of cattle at Kerani Ganj upazila in Dhaka. Methods: A total of 184 samples were collected by simple random processing from the household’s farm of Keraniganj Upazila and examined through simple sedimentation technique. Results: Faecal sedimentation revealed 141 positive samples out of 184 (76.63%) were infected, where six species of helminths, namely Fasciola spp. (6.52%), Paramphistomum spp. (16.30%), Trichuris spp. (11.41%), Strongyloides spp. (26.63%), Dictyocaulus spp. (3.80%), Moniezia spp. (2.72%) and three species of protozoa Eimeria spp. (8.69%), Balantidium spp. (19.02%), Cryptosporidium spp. (23.91%) were identified, respectively. In case of gender-wise prevalence, a little difference was observed where females (84.47%) were infected more than males (64.19%). Moreover, the highest prevalence (86.27%) was seen in the younger groups of age, followed by 72.93% in adult of more than 6 months. In addition to this, the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in non-deworming animals was found 97.29% which was higher than deworming animals (44.59%). Conclusions: The increased prevalence observed in the study area can be linked to geo-climatic factors and the presence of water-logged regions. Additionally, inadequate management practices, poor nutrition, limited awareness, and infrequent de-worming contributed to the higher occurrence of gastrointestinal parasites.