Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Nematodes and Eimeria species in Sheep in Northern Cyprus

Abstract

This study was carried out to examine the prevalence of gastrointestinal nematodes and Eimeria occysts in sheep farms of Northern Cyprus. A total of 356 sheep faecal samples were randomly collected across sheep farms in suburban regions of Northern Cyprus. The feces were tested for parasites using centrifugal flotation method. Eggs of Moniezia, Cooperia, Oesophagosuturom, Trichurus Haemonchus, Nematodirus, Trichostrongylus, Toxocara, Taeniidae, Spirocerca, gastrointestinal nematode (GNI) genera and Eimeria oocysts were recovered from the samples. At least one parasite was present in 321 of the samples, amounting to 90.2% gastrointestinal parasite prevalence. The most encountered parasite in the study was Haemonchus with 45.5% prevalence followed by Monieza with 30.5% whereas Taeniidae was the least encountered (4.2%). As for the age of animals, 92.3 % of sheep under the age of one year were infected with parasites while 48.8% of animals above two years were infected. There was no significant relationship (P value=0.33) between the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites and the sex of animals. Out of 356 studied sheep 110 (30.9%) were cross-infected with two parasite genera, and 15 (12.64%) were cross-infected with three parasite genera. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images confirmed the presence of Cooperia. GINs and Eimeria were extensively distributed and cross-infected in the sheep flocks leading to a higher risk of illness and mortality. This is the first report of the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites across sheep farms in Northern Cyprus.