Vol. 2, Issue 3, Part A (2017)

Author(s): Aphzal Mohammed, Edward Sampson, Puran Bridgemohan, Angelisah Khan and Hasani Stewart

Abstract: Parasitic infections of livestock pose a serious problem for farmers and a major obstacle for the development and expansion of the meat industry into a sustainable and profitable market. The purpose of this study was to determine the best technique to quantify gastrointestinal intestinal (GIN) eggs in calf faeces by comparing the wet faecal smear, faecal floatation and centrifugation floatation techniques of faeces of a moderately parasitized calf infested with an initial eggs per gram (epg) Mc master method, of nine hundred and fifty (950). The solutions used for the quantification were sodium chloride (NaCl), zinc sulphate (ZnSO4) and sucrose. Descriptive statistics showed that centrifugation floatation techniques showed the highest quantification of GIN eggs. Egg counts by centrifugation were highest using floatation solutions sodium chloride followed by sucrose then zinc sulphate. These findings corresponded with highly significant difference (P<0.0001) of the latter, found among techniques used. Therefore, we recommend that centrifugation techniques be used for quantifying GIN eggs and the order of floatation solutions in targeting follow up anthelmintic treatment in livestock affected by gastrointestinal parasites.