Survey of Gastrointestinal Parasites of Slaughtered Small Ruminants from Kawo, Mando and Tudun Wada Abattoirs in Kaduna State.

Gastrointestinal parasites have been recognized as a major constraint to both small and large-scale small ruminant production in developing countries. The aim of the study was to determine the gastrointestinal parasites of slaughtered small ruminants from Kawo, Mando and Tudun wada abattoirs in Kaduna state. This study was conducted within six months to identify the parasites from slaughtered small ruminants in the study area. Flotation and sedimentation method was carried out on the faecal samples for detection of cyst, eggs and adult worms. Results showed that 212 of faecal samples out of 330 examined were infected, an overall prevalence (64.2%) of animals infected with parasites. Out of this 96(45.2%) of sheep were infected while 116 (54.2%) of goats were infected. The rate of infection was 80.0% in female than that of the male was 60.0% and there was no significant association between the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites with the age of the ruminants. The parasites identified were Trichostronglus species (25.0%), Ancylostoma duodenale (20.5%), Ascarias lumbricoides (18.2%), Trichuris trichuiria and Strongyloides stercoralis (13.6%) all belonging to the taxonomic group Nematoda. It can be concluded that the slaughtered small ruminants from the abattoirs in Kaduna had 64.2% infestation of nematodes parasites and this could pose public health problem to the consumers of these animals.