An abattoir study on the prevalence of gastrointestinal nematodes of goats in the dry zone of Sri Lanka

Abstract

During a 12 months study (January to December 1996) gastrointestinal tracts of 218 crossbred goats representing the dry zone of Sri Lanka were collected and examined for the presence of gastrointestinal parasites. Two hundred and seventeen (> 99%) of the animals examined were infected with one or more species of nematodes. The worm burden was classified based on the number of adult worms; one hundred and twenty animals (55%) had a low to moderate worm burden (0-1000) and 98 (45%) had a high worm burden (>1000). Five species of nematodes were found in the abomasum and intestines. They were Oesophogostomum columbianum (88%), Haemonchus contortus (81%), Trichostrongylus colubriformis (76%), Trichostrongylus axei (59%) and Trichuris ovis (59%). The highest of the mean worm burden was due to small intestinal nematodes (1122) while large intestinal nematodes accounted for the lowest (34). The mean total number was 1751. The pattern of worm burden was bimodal and marginally seasonal.