Prevalence of Equine Lung Worm (Dictyocaulus Arnfieldi) and Its Associated Risk Factors in Jimma Town, South West Ethiopia

Abstract

This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of equine lung worm (Dictyocaulus arnifieldi) and its associated risk factors in Jimma town. The cross sectional study was conducted from November, 2014 to April, 2015 in Jimma town, Southwestern Ethiopia. Faecal samples were collected from 384 randomly selected equines (51 donkeys, 295 horses and 38 mules) and examined using modified Baermann technique to determine first stage larvae (L1) of Dictyocaulus arnfieldi. The overall prevalence of lung worm in Jimma town was found as 11.2% (43/384). At animal species level the prevalence of lung worm infection in donkeys, mules and horses were 35.29% (18/51), 21.1% (8/38) and 5.8% (17/295), respectively with higher statistical significant difference (P=0.000). Higher prevalence of infection was recorded in equines with ≥10 years of age (20.6% (21/102)) followed by age groups ≤3 years and 4-10 years with prevalence of 12.6% (11/87) and 5.6% (11/195), respectively. In this study, equines with poor body condition were found highly infested (31.5%) compared to good (3.1%) and medium (10.8%) body condition with P value of 0.000. Sex of the animals was found to have no significant association with lung worm infestation with prevalence of 13% in females and 9.9% in males (P > 0.05). This result indicated that equine lungworm was found important disease condition in the area. Hence, regular deworming and pasture management are recommended to reduce the worm burden in the equine.

Keywords: Dictyocaulus arnfieldi, Equines, Jimma, Prevalence, Risk factors