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An Analysis of the Dynamics of Gastro-Intestinal Nematode Infection in Small Ruminants in the Northern Region of Rwanda
並列摘要
In Rwanda, small ruminants have an important socio-economic and cultural role in the livelihoods of rural farmers. However, productivity is negatively affected by the incidence of nematodes. In this context, a study on dynamics of gastro-intestinal nematodes in small ruminants was conducted for one year period from September 2009 to August 2010 in ISAE farm. The farm is located on the high land region of Rwanda at 2200m above sea level. It is one of the coldest and moist zones of the country, with an average annual temperature of 15.6℃, relative humidity of 85.4%, and average annual rainfall of 1630.3mm. During this study, 15 sheep and 9 goats born at the end of July and August 2009 were followed from birth until the age of one year. Coproscopical analyses were made by Mc master's quantitative method. The results showed that sheep and goats are parasitized by the same species of nematodes. Ten nematode species namely Oesophagostomum sp., Nematodirus sp., Haemonchus sp., Trichostrongylus sp., Ostertagia sp., Cooperia sp., Chabertia sp., Bunostomum sp., Gaigeria sp. and Trichuris sp. were found. Haemonchus sp. was the most endemic species while Trichuris sp. was found as a rare nematode. Excretion of eggs was initially observed at the end of third week with an infection rate of 88.9% in kids and 73.3% in lambs after introducing them on pasture. All animals were infected by the 4th week. Seasonal characteristics had an influence on the eggs excretion, where eggs excretion was higher in the short dry season from January to February with a maximum of 2664 epg per lamb and 2577 epg per kid. These findings have important implications on the appropriate strategies that can be adopted by the government of Rwanda to control the incidence of nematodes in small ruminants.