Epidemiology of caprine gastrointestinal nematodes and associated efficacy of anthelmintic drugs in Punjab districts, India

Gastrointestinal parasites pose a serious threat to sustainable small ruminant farming worldwide including Indian subcontinent and the control primarily relies on administration of anthelmintic drugs. A continuous surveillance regarding their distribution and efficacy of commonly used anthelmintics is essential for their effective control in a region. In the present study, faecal samples (n = 1962) were collected from goats of 17 districts of Punjab state, India and examined by qualitative and quantitative examination methodologies. An overall prevalence of 93.62% was recorded for gastrointestinal parasitism with strongyles being the most prevalent (88.99%), followed by coccidia (65.34%), Moniezia spp. (16.62%), Trichuris spp. (9.38%), Strongyloides spp. (7.65%) and trematodes (Fasciola spp. and amphistomes) being least prevalent (0.02%). The quantitative analysis revealed 48.05, 14.43 and 37.51% goats with low, moderate and heavy gastrointestinal nematode infection (GIN), respectively, while faecal culture examination revealed six genera of GINs as Haemonchus (75.94%) being the predominant, followed by Trichostrongylus (16.44%), Oesophagostomum (4.85%), Bunostomum (1.65%), Ostertagia (0.77%) and Cooperia (0.33%). The logistic regression analysis revealed that risk factors viz. agroclimatic zones, season, sex and deworming status were significantly associated with prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites. The status of efficacy against fenbendazole, levamisole and ivermectin were also analysed by in-vivo faecal egg count reduction test at 17 goat farms. The overall percent efficacy as mean ± SE (range) for fenbendazole, levamisole and ivermectin was estimated at 55.97 ± 4.78% (18.92-92.44%), 51.74 ± 4.77% (11.20-77.86%) and 62.63 ± 4.66% (32.41-98.63%), respectively. The results revealed resistance against fenbendazole, levamisole and ivermectin on 100%, 100% and 94.1% farms, respectively, whereas, in-vitro tests (egg hatch test and larval developmental assay) revealed resistance as 70.6%, 93.8% and 73.3%, respectively. The high prevalence of GINs in Punjab state can be correlated with the resistance recorded against all commonly used anthelmintics and warrants exploration of non-chemical mitigation strategies for effective control. The findings of the present study would be of immense help for the policy-framers/field veterinarians/extension worker etc. in formulation and implementation of effective control measures for worm management through judicious use of the anthelmintics.