Veterinary Science & Technology

Occurrence of Giardia in Apparently Healthy Cattle and Sheep in Selected Areas of Central Oromia, Ethiopia

Abstract

Dinka Ayana*, Bersissa Kumsa and Gebayehu Alkadir

Background: Giardia is a ubiquitous intestinal protozoa causing giardiasis worldwide within the vast majority of domestic/wild mammals and humans. There is very few information on the occurrence Giardia in cattle and sheep in Ethiopia. This study was conducted from November, 2022 to August 2022 in three selected areas of central Ethiopia (Holeta, Bishoftu and Adama) to estimate the prevalence of Giardia infection in cattle and sheep, identify risk factors associated with the occurrence of the parasite and estimate the infection intensity or burden of the parasite.

Materials and methods: 687 fecal samples were collected and examined by zinc sulfate floatation technique using Lugol’s iodine solution to identify cysts of Giardia. Pictures of Giardia cysts were captured using camera fixed to a microscope. The intensity of Giardia infection was estimated semi quantitatively by counting the average number of cysts in 10 randomly selected fields of the microscope. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 26 statistical software by employing descriptive statistics such as percentage, Chi square test, and logistic regression and Mann-Whitney test of non-parametric values.

Results: Out of 687 fecal samples examined by coprology, 170 (24.7%) of cattle and sheep were infected with Giardia. The specific prevalence of Giardia in cattle and sheep was 27.4% and 15.5% respectively.

Conclusions: Breed, body condition, study site/farm, production system and fecal consistency were found to be risk factors associated with the occurrence of Giardia infection in cattle while only agro ecology was found to be associated with the occurrence of Giardia infection in sheep. Majority of Giardia infections in both cattle and sheep were found to be mild. The study indicates that Giardia infections are widely distributed in cattle and sheep in the study areas and require proper control and prevention measures.

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