Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Parasites among Pigs in the Ejisu Municipality of Ghana

The study investigated the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites among pigs in the Ejisu municipality in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Semi structured questionnaire designed to seek information on husbandry practices and animal health care issues on pig farms were administered to farm owners in ten randomly selected pig farms. 10g each of faecal sample was taken aseptically per rectum from twenty randomly selected pigs on each farm and examined at the Kumasi Regional Veterinary Laboratory using the flotation technique in a saturated solution of sodium chloride. The Eggs per gramme (EPG) was determined using a McMaster counting chamber. 56(28%) out of 200 pigs were infected with endoparasites. Four parasites were identified with prevalence of 14.5%, 11%, 2% and 0.5% for Coccidia Spp, Strongyle spp, Ascaris suum and Trichuris suis respectively. Majority of infections (32.5%) were from a single species. The intensity of infection was low with a mean EPG ranging from 100 – 429. It is recommended that the quarterly prophylactic deworming of pigs against endoparasites should be adapted and the type of anthelmintic used changed annually in order to reduce parasite resistance.