PREVALENCE AND ASSOCIATED RISK FACTORS FOR AMPHISTOMOSIS IN BUFFALOES OF JAMMU REGION, INDIA

The prevalence and associated risk factors for amphistomosis in buffaloes of Jammu region (India) were assessed for one year study using faecal examination. The overall prevalence was recorded to be 16.61% (279/1680). Seasonally, the highest prevalence was found in monsoon season (32.6%), followed by summer (23.8%), post-monsoon (6.4%) and winter (3.6%) seasons. Animals above 1 year of age had significantly higher (P<0.05) prevalence (17.47%) than animals up to 6 months (7.1%) of age groups. Females had a non-significant (P>0.05) higher prevalence (16.94%) than the males (12.29%). Between agro-climatic zones, the buffaloes of irrigated area had a significantly higher (P<0.01) prevalence (24.3%) in comparison to rain-fed area (8.9%). From the study, it can be concluded that the season, age and agro-climatic conditions have direct effect on the prevalence of amphistomosis in buffaloes and the administration of an efficient anthelmintic during summer and rainy seasons can reduce the burden of this economically important parasite