Epidemiology and Control Measures of Helminth Parasites in Small Ruminants

Parasitic disease is one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity in small ruminants. The direct causes of economic loss due to parasitic infestations are acute illness, death and premature slaughter. In addition, another cause of economic loss to small animal ruminant farmers is rejection of edible parts of infested animals during meat inspection. The indirect losses are due to decrease potentiality in terms of production performances like weight loss, decrease growth rate in growing animals and decreased reproductive potentiality in adult animals. In animals, parasitic infections can occur in either clinical or sub clinical form. However, the later is being the most common and important from economic point of view. The sub-clinical infection is directly related to reproductive performance of the animal. However, the clinical form of parasitic infestation has received considerable attention as it causes mortality in animals. The epidemiology of helminthes diseases is determined by several factors that are governed by the environment and host-parasite interactions. This article presents an overview of epidemiology of helminthes parasites in small ruminants and the factors affecting prevalence of helminthes parasites. In addition, the effective measures to control and prevent helminthes parasites in small ruminants are discussed in detail. 335 Epidemiology and Control Measures of Helminth Parasites in Small Ruminants International Journal of Bio-resource and Stress Management 2013, 4(2):278-287