Abstract:

Background: Helminth infections of swine are common, but reports on the economic losses are not available. Though they cause a reduction in weight gain by interfering with food digestion, absorption, and feed conversion efficiency, there has been an increase in feeding cost complicated by helminth parasite infections. The losses are difficult to substantiate due to the chronic nature of helminth infections. This study sought to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of swine helminth infections in three local government areas of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. A simple random sampling technique was applied to selected pig farms and animals from three local government areas in Ibadan for participation. 10 grams of freshly voided faeces were collected from a total of 246 pigs into a sterile labelled bottle containing 10% formalin until processed. Faecal samples were examined in the Department of Veterinary Parasitology and Entomology Laboratory, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ibadan. Oral interviews were made to assess the daily routine activities and health status of the pigs from farm owners. Results: The overall prevalence of helminth parasites of swine in this study was 34.2% while the species prevalence of four helminth parasites obtained in this study included: A. suum 35 (14.26%), T. suis 23 (9.3%), Oesophagostomum spp 17 (6.9%), and Strongyloides spp 9 (3.6%). Also, the overall single and mixed helminth infections were 70.2% and 29.8% in the three local government areas respectively; helminth parasitic load was highest in grower pigs (48.4%), followed by piglets (31.6%), and lowest in adult pigs (22.5%) without significant difference (p>0.05). Female pigs demonstrated a higher parasite burden (37.6%) than male pigs (30.6%) with no significant difference (p>0.05). Semi-intensively managed farms had a higher parasite load (71%) than those under the intensive system (24%) while farms that administered anthelmintic recorded a lower prevalence (15%), and those without had a higher (63%) significance (p<0.05). Pigs in Ona-Ara and Akinyele local government areas voided low (EPG≤100) to moderate (EPG≥100<500) amount of helminth eggs while pigs in Egbeda local government area excreted high (EPG≥500≤1000). Conclusion: The risk factors for helminth infections in pigs are age, sex, farm management practice, and anthelminthic administration.