Study of gastro-intestinal parasitism in migratory sheep in SPSRNellore District of Andhra Pradesh, India

The present study was undertaken to investigate prevalence of gastro-intestinal parasites in migratory sheep in SPSRNellore district. Out of 1601 faecal examinations, 725 (45.28%) were positive which included single infections (25.36%) of ova of Strongyle spp.(12.55%), Strongyloides spp.(0.50%), Trichuris spp. (0.37%), oocysts of Eimeria spp.(7.81%), ova of Amphistome spp.(2.06%) and ova of Moniezia spp.(2.06%) along with mixed infections (19.93%) in which Strongyle spp. + Eimeria spp. was prominant (9.49%) followed by Strongyle spp. + Moniezia spp. (2.62%), Strongyle spp. + Eimeria spp. + Amphistome spp. (2.19%) and lowest (0.06%) with Strongyloides spp. + Eimeria spp. and Amphistome spp. + Eimeria spp. Five different species of Eimeria were identified after sporulation viz; E.parva, E.ovina, E.faurei, E.pallida and E.intricata.In the current study Females (46.60%) were more susceptible than males (41.61%). No significant difference between the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites was observed between the lambs (45.40%), Adults (45.28%) and young sheep (44.57%) at 5% level of significance. Month wise highest prevalence was recorded in March 2024 (65%) followed by August 2024 (61.72%), July 2024 (43.18%), June 2024 (40.38%), May 2024 (35.21%) and in April 2024 prevalence was lowest (26.02%). The study emphasis migratory stress impact in Gastro-intestinal parasitism. Keywords : Migratory sheep, Gastro-intestinal parasites, andhra pradesh, Eimeria, Faecal examination, Micrometry, Sex, Age, Migration stress