Prevalence and risk factors for gastrointestinal parasitism in traditionally maintained goat flocks of South Gujarat.

A total of 360 faecal samples of goat belonging to Ahir community were collected randomly from eight villages on monthly basis. On same day, collected samples were subjected to qualitative faecal examination and positive samples were categorized into mild, moderate and heavy infected groups. The risk factors considered for study were age, pregnancy, lactation, seasons, wet land grazing and hygiene in housing. Overall 41.11 % animals were found positive for helminth eggs and among them 24.17, 10.56 and 6.39 % of goats were mildly, moderately and heavily infected, respectively. The helminths recorded were strongyles (26.9 %), amphistomes (18.1 %), Trichuris spp. (8.1 %) and Nematoidirus spp. (3.9 %). Similarly, 72 (20 %) animals were found positive for presence of coccidia oocysts in which 13.06, 4.17 and 2.78 % were having mild, moderate and heavy infection. The Chi square test revealed that the housing quality, seasons and body condition scores (BCS) were having significant effects on helminths prevalence. The Chi square values indicated that age, hygiene of houses, seasons and BCS have significantly associated with prevalence of coccidiosis. The helminths prevalence was having significant positive correlation with lactation status and housing quality whereas it was significantly negatively correlated with prevalence of coccidia. Kendall's Correlation coefficients among various risk factors reveals that age and housing quality has significant negative correlations with coccidia infection. The gastro-intestinal (GI) parasites incidence was significantly high during the monsoon than the summer/winter season. The correlation of GI- parasitic prevalence with pregnancy status and age was not found.