Prevalence of Common Gastrointestinal Parasites in Small Ruminants and Their Associated Risk Factors in Farta District, Northwest Ethiopia
Balemual AbebawBackground
Infections caused by parasites in the gastrointestinal tract pose a significant health problem, negatively impacting the productivity and reproductive abilities of sheep and goats in Ethiopia.
Materials and Methods
A cross‐sectional study was carried out in Farta District, located in the South Gondar Zone of Northwest Ethiopia, between October 2024 and August 2025, to estimate the prevalence of common gastrointestinal parasite infections in small ruminants. A total of 384 small ruminants were selected using a simple random sampling technique. Faecal samples were examined microscopically using Floatation and sedimentation techniques. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain information regarding the potential risk factors. Data were analysed using Stata/MP 19.5. A p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Result
The overall prevalence of common gastrointestinal parasites was 73.4% in the study area. The prevalence of parasitic infection associated with the species was 79.0% and 63.57% in sheep and goats respectively. This study showed that sheep were more affected than goats, indicating a statistically significant difference ( p = 0.025) between the species. The likelihood of gastrointestinal parasitic infection was increased by two‐fold (AOR = 2.16, CI = 1.36, 3.44, p = 0.001) in ovine than caprine. The prevalence of common gastrointestinal parasites was 77.2% in females and 68% in males, and there was no significant difference between sex ( χ 2 = 12.38, p = 0.135). The prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites by age group was 72% in young animals, 59% in adults and 95.6% in older animals. There was a notable difference in infection rates across different age groups ( χ 2 = 33.65, p = 0.006). The parasites found in ovine were Trichostrongylus species (10.24%), Strongyloides species (14.75%), Haemonchus species (11%), Nematodirus species (6.7%), Fasciola species (11.5%), Eimeria species (6.1%), Trichuris species (6.1%) and mixed infection (12.3%). The gastrointestinal parasite prevalence based on season was 88.5% in autumn, 63.9% in winter, 70.5% in spring and 70.6% in summer ( χ 2 = 104.19, p = 0.000).
Conclusion
This study found that common gastrointestinal parasites are the main economic challenges faced by small ruminants in the study area. The current study found that sheep had a higher rate of gastrointestinal parasites compared to goats. Therefore, proper strategic deworming of small ruminants should be carried out in the study area.