Vol. 12, Issue 8 (2023)

Author(s):
Rajeshwari, Ganesh, Akshaykumar, Akshata Patil and Preeti

Abstract:
The present study reports the prevalence of ecto- and endo-parasites of sheep in and around krishna district, andhra pradesh. A total of 625 sheep samples (faeces, blood, and external parasites) collected and examined from April 2022 to September 2022. Examination of faecal samples revealed the presence of different gastrointestinal (GI) parasites in 441 sheep. The overall prevalence was 70.6%. The endoparasites were strongyles, (52.2%), Amphistomes, (12.6%), Trichuris (11.7%) and Strongyloides (9.1%) in helminths and coccidia (3.8%) in protozoa. Trichostrongyles were the most prevalent, followed by Paramphistomes. Overall, the prevalence was highest in yearlings (73.7%), followed by adults (71.4%) and lambs (68.5%). The prevalence was more in male (75.9%) than female (70.1%) sheep. On examination of blood smears, no sheep were found to be positive for haemoparasites. 110 (17.6%) sheep were found to be infested with ticks and identified as Rhipicephalus microplus and R. Haemophysaloides based on morphological characters after processing.