Prospective study on gastrointestinal parasites in sheep and public health in Abuzi

Abstract

A prospective study of gastrointestinal parasitism in local sheep and their susceptibility to affect public health was conducted in the center of Abuzi, in the north of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Forty sheep were examined in April towards the end of the dry season, (n = 40). The parasite range inventoried included two nematode genera, in descending order of prevalence, Ankylostoma (30 %) and Trichuris (10 %). It also contained a genus of protozoa, Entamoeba (10 %) and a set of intestinal flora bacteria (10 %). The variability of the sampling favored a higher claim for adults (80 %) but with a high prevalence of Ankylostoma (67 %). The morphological and physiological similarity of these kinds of parasites with those of humans, the wandering of animals with the spread of fecal matter in the middle of the population and the proliferation of house flies are likely to expose the health of humans to zoonotic parasitic contaminations.

Keywords

• parasites
• gastrointestinal
• sheep
• public health