Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Parasites of Sheep and Goats in the Fora and Mona Populations during Drought Mitigation in Marsabit County of Kenya

 

Wilkister Nakami, HM Mutembei,C Okell and SM Githigia

 

Research Paper I Published November,2015

 

Journal of Agricultural Science and Food Technology  Vol. 1 (6), pp.84-87

 

 

ABSTRACT

 

Gastrointestinal parasitism is a major problem among sheep and goats in arid and semi-arid areas like Marsabit County of Kenya. In this county, during drought, the animals are separated into two groups; the Mona group comprising of the pregnant and milking animals that are left with the women and children at the homestead and the Fora group comprising of the others are herded to far grazing areas by the men in search of pastures and water. As the drought progresses, stress from deteriorating body condition tends to lower the immunity of affected animals making them prone to internal worm burden. Studies comparing prevalence of worms in these two groups of animals have been scarce. This study investigated the gastrointestinal parasite burden in these two groups during drought period to determine which group resisted parasitism. Rectal fecal samples from 1328 animals collected in fecal pots, and were analyzed for both egg and oocyts counts using the McMaster technique. The prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites was significantly higher in the Mona group than Fora group. Coccidia were the main occurrence and a more rigorous worm control strategy is recommended for the Mona group to enable them cope better with the drought.

Key Words: Gastrointestinal parasites, Mona and Fora group, Sheep and Goats, Fecal samples.
 

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