Prevalence of schistosomiasis infection in cattle in selected Local Government Areas in Rivers State
The study was conducted to determine prevalence of schistosomiasis infection in cattle in selected Local Government Areas in Rivers State. The study animals was cattle population to be randomly selected in the Abattoir located in Ikwerre, Ahuada-East and Eleme representing the 3 Senatorial Districts in Rivers state which specifically comprising of cattle such as cattle. A cross-sectional study design was used to assess disease prevalence of bovine schistosomiasis in Rivers state. Field surveys were conducted to collect primary data on the prevalence and distribution of schistosomiasis among cattle in Rivers state. Physically, examination of the cattle for signs of schistosomiasis infection, including clinical symptoms and external lesions. The results showed that there a significant difference (p<0.05) in prevalence of schistosomiasis across the LGAs and among the species studied. The results revealed that out of 180 cattle examined, 61 tested positive. In all the species examined, White Fulani was observed to be the species with highest prevalence of schistosomiasis in Ahuada (14.75%), Eleme (711.48%) and Ikwerre (11.48%) while the least species with schistosomiasis prevalence was recorded from the control site. Among the entire population of 180, 61 animals tested positive for schistosomiasis. The sex specific prevalence showed that females had the highest infection rate of 68.85% while males had 31.45% prevalence, although statistical analysis indicated no significant difference between the sexes (p > 0.05). This study provided the base line data on the prevalence and distribution of Schistosoma infection in cattle within the three Local Government Areas (Ahuada, Eleme and Ikwerre) in Rivers State, Nigeria.
Keywords: Prevalence, schistosomiasis, infection, cattle, Rivers State, Nigeria.
