Investigation on Trematodes of Ruminants: Current status, Snail intermediate hosts, and Community knowledge in and around Bishoftu, Ethiopia
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Date
2024
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The occurrence of trematode infections in ruminants, facilitated by their snail
intermediate hosts, poses a major concern across the diverse agro ecological regions
of Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was conducted in and around Bishoftu town from
November 2023 to April 2024 to determine the current prevalence of trematode
infections and associated risk factors in ruminants, identify snail intermediate hosts of
trematodes and determine their infectivity through the emergence of cercariae, and
assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of farmers regarding the
prevention and traditional management of trematode infections. A total of 336 fecal
samples were collected from cattle, sheep, and goats and subjected to
copromicroscopic examination. 400 snails were collected, identified and examined for
cercarial shedding. The copromicroscopic examination revealed an overall prevalence
of 11.61% trematode infections in the study animals. Logistic regression analysis
showed that risk factors such as species, age, body condition score (BCS), and season
had significant associations with overall trematode infections. The identified genera
were Fasciola (8.93%) and Paramphistomum (4.46%), with coinfection of 1.79%.
Sheep had higher infection of Fasciola compared to goats and cattle, which was
statistically significant (OR = 7.713, 95% CI: 2.197-27.076, p = 0.001). Cattle had
higher Paramphistomum infection than sheep and goat which was statistically
significant (OR = 18.403, 95% CI: 2.111-160.375, p = 0.008). Young animals had
higher Paramphistomum infection compared to old animals (OR = 14.786, 95% CI:
2.295-95.276, p = 0.005). Poor body condition animals were more affected than those
with medium and good body condition for both Fasciola (OR = 12.27, 95% CI: 3.097-
48.118, p = 0.000) and Paramphistomum (OR = 6.277, 95% CI: 1.147-34.363, p =
0.034). The semi-dry season was associated with higher Fasciola infection compared
to dry season (OR = 3.265, 95% CI: 1.307-8.155, p = 0.011). The malacology study
involved the collection of 400 snails, and revealed Lymnaea natalensis (37%), Physa
spp (21.25%), Bulinus truncatus (15.75%), Lymnaea truncatula (10%), Biomphalaria
pfeifferi (9.5%), and Bulinus africanus (6.5%). The overall cercarial rate of infection
of snails was 7.75%, with the highest rate of infection observed in Lymnaea
natalensis (13.51%), and followed by Bulinus truncatus (11.11%). Rate of infections
varied significantly by species (χ² = 18.76, p = 0.002), habitat type, with ponds having
the highest rate (13.48%) (χ² = 15.6, p = 0.004), and season, with higher rates during
the semi-dry season (12%) compared to the dry season (3.5%) (χ² = 10.11, p = 0.001).
The quiestionnaire survey revealed that there was significant associations (p <0.05)
between education level and KAP of farmers; gender and age with knowledge of
farmers about trematode infections. In conclusion, the study provided important
insights into the epidemiology of trematode infections in the study area and strategic
deworming to reduce pasture contamination with flukes and snail control is needed.
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Keywords
Bishoftu, MEDICINE::Social medicine::Public health medicine research areas::Epidemiology, Fasciola, Paramphistomum, Ruminant, Snail