CLINICO-EPIDEMIOLOGY AND HAEMATO-BIOCHEMICAL STRESS ASSOCIATED WITH PARASITIC INFESTATION ALONG WITH THERAPEUTIC TRIALS IN GOATS - Dr. Khalid Mehmood; Mohammad K. Okla; Ebtesam M. Al Olayan; Riaz Ahmed Gul; Ali Raza; Muhammad Ali Raza; Hira Anjum; Tasleem Ghauri; Muhammad Altaf; Amir Iftikhar; LI KUN (Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences, 2024)
Parasite infection poses a significant risk to goat health due to low birth weights, poor body condition, low weight gain, and difficulties in kidding. This study aims to investigate the clinico-hematology and epidemiology of parasites along with the therapeutic effect of eprinomectin in goats in south Punjab. A total of 320 goats were selected to collect 160 fecal samples and 160 skin scraping samples. For therapeutic trials, six healthy goats and six goats having parasitic infection were selected to apply eprinomectin. Blood samples were taken from both groups for serum biochemistry and complete blood count. Overall prevalence of ectoparasites was 31.8%. The Bahawalpur area has high prevalence of ectoparasite (59.3%) with a significant difference that include a higher prevalence in older goats (52%) as compared to younger goats (24.44%). In the ectoparasite, ticks are the major species that are more prevalent (20%) than Lice (8.75%) and Mites (3.12%) in goats. The prevalence of endoparasites was 56.8%. Our study also revealed that Ahmedpur area has high prevalence of endoparasite (78.1%), including a higher prevalence in older goats (64.66%) as compared to younger (26.31%). Among endoparasites, the prevalent species were Toxocara (11.25%), Stronglyus (9.37%), Emaria (17.5%), Haemonchus (6.25%), Marshliagia (1.25%), Monizia (5.0%), and Gardia (6.25%) in the Bahawalpur area. Hematological results revealed a significant (P<0.05) variation in WBC, RBC, hemoglobin and MCV between infected and healthy groups on 7th day, while WBC, MCV, and MCH showed a significant difference (P<0.05) on 14th day after the eprinomectin administration. On the 14th day after treatment, albumin, SGOT, total protein, and SGPT values were not significantly different (P>0.05) in both groups, which showed that eprinomectin did not cause stress or any physiological changes in goats. Therapeutic trials revealed that 3 (50%) goats were recovered on the 7th day, while 5 (83%) goats were completely recovered on 14th day. It has been demonstrated that parasitic infestation in goats is a major problem in the Bahawalpur division, and eprinomectin can reduce the the parasitic burden and improve animal health.
Keywords: journal article; Eprinomectin; Parasite; Prevalence; Eprinomectin; Goat; Hematological changes; Oxidative Stress