Faecal Examinations of Pashmina Goats (Capra siberica) of Ladakh for Nematode Infections
In the present study an attempt was made to find out the various nematodes and their prevalence infesting the pashmina goats of Ladakh through faecal examinations. The eggs collected from these were identified as Haemonchus contortus, Trichuris ovis, Dictyocaulus filaria and Chabertia ovina. Identification was done on the basis of various morphological and morphometric characters (Yamaguti, 1975; Soulsby, 1982). Of the 70 animals examined 22 (31.42%) were found infected with single or multiple parasite species. It was also observed that among these H. contortus 42.15% was most dominant followed by T. ovis (37.46%) D. filaria (32.24%) and C. ovina (18.78%) respectively. The study also revealed a significant difference with respect to season, wherein higher prevalence (40.00%) was observed during the rainy season as compared to the dry season 22.85%. Similarly an association was observed between sex and age of the host with prevalence of nematode infections. It was also observed that females were more infected (37.14%) as compared to males (25.71%). Likewise young animals were more infected (34.28%) than the adult ones (28.57%). Similarly an association was observed between prevalence and agro-ecology of the study area where in higher values (32.05%) were recorded for comparatively lowland (Kargil) areas as compared to highland (Leh) areas (30.00%). The study also show slight relationship between body condition and prevalence wherein the intensity of infection was higher (31.11%) in weak animals as compared to healthy ones (32.00%). Hence, it was concluded that the pashmina goats of Ladakh are infested by four species of nematode parasites or may be more and their prevalence was found varying with respect to season, sex, age, body condition and agro-ecology. This is for the first time that survey on nematode parasites in pashmina goats of this region have been taken into consideration.
