Gastrointestinal helminths in farmers and their ruminant livestock from the Coastal Savannah zone of Ghana
Item
Title
Gastrointestinal helminths in farmers and their ruminant livestock from the Coastal Savannah zone of Ghana
Date
2018
Language
English
Abstract
To identify the gastrointestinal helminths of veterinary, zoonotic and public health importance in farmers and their ruminant
livestock in Ghana, faecal samples were collected from 95 farmers and their livestock (cattle = 328, sheep = 285 and goats = 217)
and examined by microscopy and/or molecular techniques. Overall, 21 farmers tested positive for at least one gastrointestinal
helminth, 80.9% of which were single infections and 19.0% co-infections. The parasites identified in the farmers consisted of
hookworms (n = 13) (9 were Necator americanus and the other 4 could not be amplified by PCR), Trichostrongylus spp. (n = 9),
Schistosoma mansoni (n = 1), Schistosoma haematobium (n = 1) and Diphyllobothrium latum (n = 1). In livestock, strongylid
nematodes were dominant (56.6%), followed by Paramphistomum spp. (16.9%), Dicrocoelium spp. (7.1%), Thysaniezia spp.
(5.8%), Trichuris spp. (3.3%), Moniezia spp. (3.1%), Fasciola spp. (2.8%), Toxocara spp. (1.1%) and Schistosoma spp. (0.2%).
Genotyping of Trichostrongylus spp. in the farmer’s stools identified six T. colubriformis similar to T. colubriformis detected in
cattle, sheep and goats in the study, two Trichostrongylus spp. with 98.3% and 99.2% genetic similarity to T. probolurus
respectively and one Trichostrongylus spp. which showed 96.6% similarity to both T. probolurus and T. rugatus.
Trichostrongylus axei was also identified in cattle, sheep and goats. This is the first molecular characterisation of
Trichostrongylus spp. in Ghana and the species identified in the present study suggests zoonotic transmission from cattle, sheep
and goats. Further studies involving larger numbers of farmers and their household members are essential to understand the
transmission dynamics and impact of these parasites on farming communities in Ghana.
livestock in Ghana, faecal samples were collected from 95 farmers and their livestock (cattle = 328, sheep = 285 and goats = 217)
and examined by microscopy and/or molecular techniques. Overall, 21 farmers tested positive for at least one gastrointestinal
helminth, 80.9% of which were single infections and 19.0% co-infections. The parasites identified in the farmers consisted of
hookworms (n = 13) (9 were Necator americanus and the other 4 could not be amplified by PCR), Trichostrongylus spp. (n = 9),
Schistosoma mansoni (n = 1), Schistosoma haematobium (n = 1) and Diphyllobothrium latum (n = 1). In livestock, strongylid
nematodes were dominant (56.6%), followed by Paramphistomum spp. (16.9%), Dicrocoelium spp. (7.1%), Thysaniezia spp.
(5.8%), Trichuris spp. (3.3%), Moniezia spp. (3.1%), Fasciola spp. (2.8%), Toxocara spp. (1.1%) and Schistosoma spp. (0.2%).
Genotyping of Trichostrongylus spp. in the farmer’s stools identified six T. colubriformis similar to T. colubriformis detected in
cattle, sheep and goats in the study, two Trichostrongylus spp. with 98.3% and 99.2% genetic similarity to T. probolurus
respectively and one Trichostrongylus spp. which showed 96.6% similarity to both T. probolurus and T. rugatus.
Trichostrongylus axei was also identified in cattle, sheep and goats. This is the first molecular characterisation of
Trichostrongylus spp. in Ghana and the species identified in the present study suggests zoonotic transmission from cattle, sheep
and goats. Further studies involving larger numbers of farmers and their household members are essential to understand the
transmission dynamics and impact of these parasites on farming communities in Ghana.
Collection
Citation
“Gastrointestinal helminths in farmers and their ruminant livestock from the Coastal Savannah zone of Ghana,” CSIRSpace, accessed September 20, 2024, http://cspace.csirgh.com/items/show/1645.