Detection of Gastrointestinal Helminthic and Protozoan Infections in Diarrhoeic Goats

Parasitic gastro-enteritis leads to a serious health threat with a limitation to the productivity of small ruminants due to the associated morbidity, mortality, cost of treatment and prophylaxis (Nwosu et al., 2007). Parasitic infections are of much economic importance because small ruminants' rearing has become a major source of income particularly to the marginal farmers in the country (Pathak and Pal, 2008). The most important gastro intestinal parasites in goats are coccidia (protozoa), nematodes (roundworms), cestodes (tapeworms), and trematodes (flukes). Amongst these, parasites of Trichostrongylidae family are considered of paramount importance as they cause significant morbidity and loss of production (Veale, 2002).