Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Haemonchus contortus in Sheep Slaughtered at Bahir Dar Municipal Abattoir, Ethiopia

Abstract

Haemonchus contortus is a blood sucking parasite resulting a massive economic loss in tropical and subtropical sheep rearing areas. A cross-sectional study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of haemonchosis and its predictors at Bahir Dar municipal abattoir, northwestern Ethiopia, from December 2022 to April 2023. A total of 378 abomasum of sheep were taken by using systematic random sampling and inspected according to standard procedures. Accordingly, the findings of this study revealed an overall prevalence of 34.40% (30/378) (95% CI: 29.75-39.35). The presence of H. contortus in female sheep (46.41%) was significantly higher than in male (23.35%) (P<0.001). The same is true; prevalence of haemonchosis in young (<1 year) sheep was 43.33% significantly (P<0.001) higher than that of adult (≥1 year) which was 26.26%. Based the origin of the animals in the current study, it was nonsignificant variation (P=0.386). The current study depicted that H. contortus infection is a common parasitic disease and requires remarkable attention to the prevention and control of haemonchosis at the study area.