Prevalence of Gastro-Intestinal Parasites of Dairy Cows in Thailand

Abstract

Gastro-intestinal (GI) parasitic infections remain one of the major constraints to ruminant production in Thailand. Insidious productivity losses through reduced feed intake and decreased efficiency in feed utilization, associated with subclinical or chronic conditions of parasitic infections are often the cause of large economic losses. The objectives of this study were to: 1) assess the prevalence of GI parasitism in dairy cows in Thailand; 2) determine the species of existing GI parasites; and 3) compare GI parasitic rates of cows from different regions of Thailand. The study was conducted in four parts of Thailand. A total of 1,599 fecal samples were collected and subjected to ethyl-acetate centrifugation to identify the stages of any parasites. The overall prevalence of parasitic infection was 46.6 % (745/1599). Cows aged between 1 to 5 y had the highest infection rate (51.4 %). Cows older than 5 y and younger than 1 y had rates of 41.8 and 33.8 %, respectively. The highest percentage of infected cows by region was in the South (98.4 %). Cows in the North, Central, and Northeast were had infection rates of 66.4, 18.2 and 16.7 %, respectively. The herd infection rate of GI parasites in dairy farms in the South was the highest (14/14, 100 %) compared to the North (37/42, 88.1 %), Northeast (30/46, 65.2 %), and
Central (28/60, 46.7 %). GI parasites were identified as Entamoeba, rumen fluke, coccidia, Strongyles, Fasciola, Moniezia, Trichuris, Strongyloides, and Giardia. The high incidence of parasitism of cows might have been due to the relative low influence of feeding behavior and a deworming program. In circumstances of very high infection, management and treatment is highly recommended.