The prevalence and intensity of external and internal parasites in working donkeys (Equus asinus) in Egypt

Veterinary World, EISSN: 2231-0916 Available at www.veterinaryworld.org/Vol.11/September-2018/16.pdf RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access The prevalence and intensity of external and internal parasites in working donkeys (Equus asinus) in Egypt Marwa M. Attia1, Marwa M. Khalifa1 and Marwa Th. Atwa2 1. Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt; 2. Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Al-Fayoum University, Egypt. Corresponding author: Marwa M. Attia, e-mail: Co-authors: MMK: , MTA: Received: 14-05-2018, Accepted: 26-07-2018, Published online: 19-09-2018 doi: 10.14202/vetworld.2018.1298-1306 How to cite this article: Attia MM, Khalifa MM, Atwa MT (2018) The prevalence and intensity of external and internal parasites in working donkeys (Equus asinus) in Egypt, Veterinary World, 11(9):1298-1306. Abstract Aim: This study aims to record and update the prevalence and intensity of external and internal parasites in working donkeys (Equus asinus) in Egypt during the period from January to December 2017. Materials and Methods: A total of 120 donkeys (10 donkeys each month) were examined at Giza zoo abattoir through bimonthly visits. The examined donkeys were obtained from five governorates (Giza [20], Fayoum [40], Beni Suef [30], Monofia [20], and Assiut [10]). The animals were grouped according to age and sex. Results: All examined donkeys were positive with at least one internal or even external parasitic species. The overall prevalence rate was 100%. A total of 11 helminths species (10 nematodes and 1 metacestode); 7 protozoal and 7 arthropod species were collected. The number of each parasite and intensity of infection with regard to age and sex was recorded. Conclusion: All examined donkeys were infected with parasites with an overall prevalence of 100%. So, we recommended following up and continuous treatment of such diseased animal. Keywords: arthropods, donkeys, Egypt, external parasites, helminths, internal parasites, protozoa. Introduction More than 40 million donkeys are distributed throughout the world [1]. The donkey population in Africa is estimated to be 13 million [2]. According to the latest Food and Agriculture Organization statistics, there are approximately 3 million working donkeys in Egypt. The working donkeys, horses, and mules carry out a wide range of work types. These animals are used for transportation of passengers and goods by carts in urban areas in the busy cities and towns. The most important problems for equines and donkeys in developing countries are gastrointestinal parasitism [3]. Donkeys harbor a large number of parasites including roundworms (families: Stronglidae, Oxyuridae, Trichostronglidae, and Ascaridae), flatworms (Fasciolidae), and tapeworm (family: Anoplocephalidae) which damage the intestine depending on the species and number of parasites [3]. Infections with endoparasites cause loss of condition, poor reproduction of animals, colic, and diarrhea [4]. Furthermore, blood protozoal diseases are one of the important parasitic infections which affect family Equidae in Egypt. Equine piroplasmosis is the tickborne disease caused by Theileria equi (Babesia equi) Copyright: Attia, et al. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/ publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. Veterinary World, EISSN: 2231-0916 which causes abortions, loss of performance, and death [5]. Trypanosomes are blood parasites found in mammals including donkeys; Trypanosoma evansi which is one of the trypanosomes infecting donkeys [6]. This study aims to record and update the prevalence and intensity of external and internal parasites in working donkeys (Equus asinus) in Egypt during the period from January to December 2017. Materials and Methods Ethical approval This study was approved by the Ethical Committee, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University with number CU/II/F/18/103. Animals During the period from January to December 2017, 120 donkeys (10 donkeys each month) were examined at postmortem in Giza Zoo abattoir (Giza, Egypt) through bimonthly visits, for the detection of internal and external parasitic infection. The donkeys were obtained from five governorates (Giza [20], Fayoum [40], Beni Suef [30], Monofia [20], and Assiut [10]). The animals were grouped according to age as from 1 to 2 years (25), 3-5 years (35), and 6-8 years (60), of which 90 donkeys were male and 30 were female. The animals were field working donkeys, fed on green ration, and never received any antiparasitic medications. These animals send for slaughtering in this abattoir are usually emaciated and unsuitable for working. Each donkey was physically examined before slaughtering, for determination of the age and sex as well as examination of external parasites on skin. 1298 Available at www.veterinaryworld.org/Vol.11/September-2018/16.pdf Fecal sample collection and examination Fecal samples were collected directly from the rectum of donkeys before slaughtering. The feces were collected in separate polyethylene bags and labeled for identification. Microscopic examination of the samples was performed in the Laboratory of the Parasitology Department in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt. The gross fecal examination was done for the collection of adult nematodes and/or the gravid segment of cestodes. Microscopic fecal examination Direct smear method A small amount of feces was placed on the clean glass slide and mixed with a drop of water; a coverslip was applied on the fecal smear and examined under the microscope to detect and identify the parasitic ova [7]. Floatation and sedimentation technique Floatation technique One g of feces was diluted with 10 ml of saturated salt solution in the test tube which was filled to the top with the salt. A clean cover glass slip was sideways over the top of the tube. After 10 min, the cover was taken onto the slide and examined under the light microscope using the magnification power 40 and 100×. Sedimentation method Two g of feces was dissolved in tap water in a beaker and allowed the mixture to sediment without disturbing for 20-30 min. The supernatant was poured off to collect the sediment for examination [7]. A small amount of the sediment was transferred to a small Petri dish and examined under the light microscope using the magnification power 40 and 100×. Examination of gastrointestinal samples The samples were collected from stomach and small and large in (...truncated)