Gastrointestinal Parasite Infection in Pigs Bred on Traditional Farms in the Department of Man (Côte d'Ivoire)

The breeding of pigs is an alternative way to compensate the lack of animal protein in the diet. However, farmers are confronted with parasitic diseases that hinder development. The aim of this study was to inventory of the parasites infesting pigs in the department of Man. The research method involved a parasite analysis of 120 faecal samples taken from apparently healthy pigs across six different traditional piggery. The flotation coprology method was used to detect parasite cysts or eggs. The results showed that the infection rate among the pigs was 89.1%, with a higher prevalence in males (98.0%) and pigs aged between one and two years. The isolated parasite species were Ascaris suum (58.3%), Coccidia (45%), Strongyloides ransomi (41.7%), Oesophagostomum spp. (29.2%) and Hymenolepis diminuta (19.2%). High infection rates were recorded on all farms. Pigs from Kpangouin were the most contaminated (100%), followed by those from Voungbé (95%) and Korgouin (94.4%). However, there was no significant difference between locality and pig infection level (P > 0.05). Cases of co-infection were observed with pigs harboring two different parasites being the most common (40.2%). Those harboring three, four or five parasites had rates of 25.2%, 5.6% and 1.8%, respectively. Based on these results, appropriate anti-parasitic treatments should be recommended to farmers to improve production.