PREVALENCE OF AMPHISTOMOSIS IN DAIRY CATTLE OF DIFFERENT AGRO-ECOLOGICAL ZONES OF CENTRAL KERALA

Abstract

The present study was carried out to assess the prevalence of amphistomosis in six agro-ecological zones of central Kerala comprising Thrissur,Malappuram and Palakkad. Out of the 515 faecal samples examined 165 turned amphistome ova positive with a prevalence of 32 %. Amphistomosis was found to be high in all the six zones. High infection is favoured by the topography and climatic conditions of Kerala which favours the molluscan intermediate hosts. The study throws light on the prevalence of this neglected disease in our state which needs urgent epidemiological interventions for profitable dairy farming.

Keywords

• amphistomosis
• prevalence
• dairy cattle
• kerala