Prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in yellow cattle between Taiwan and its offshore islands

Abstract

A total of 310 fecal samples of yellow cattle were collected in Taiwan and its offshore islands Penghu and Kinmen for gastrointestinal parasite examination using coprological techniques. The overall prevalence was 73.2%. The infection rates of protozoa, nematodes, trematodes, and cestodes were 57.7%, 37.7%, 17.1%, and 0.6%, respectively. Among all parasites, Cryptosporidium spp. (41.6%) were the most predominant, followed by strongyles (36.1%) and Eimeria spp. (11.9%). There were significant differences in the prevalence of protozoa and nematodes between different distributional area groups. The present study demonstrates that gastrointestinal parasitic infections, particularly protozoan infections, occur frequently in yellow cattle in Taiwan and its offshore islands. The results indicate that superior management systems and regular anthelmintic treatments should be performed for the control of parasitic infections on yellow-cattle farms.