Prevalence of Intestinal Schistosomiasis in Donkeys (Equus asinus) in the Region of Tillabéri, Niger

Abstract

Aims: to estimate the prevalence of intestinal schistosomiasis in donkeys selected from five different localities of the district of Tillabéri. Study Design:  This is a cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: District of Tillabéri, Niger republic, from February to April 2023. Methodology: We randomly selected 200 donkeys from five different localities of the district of Tillabéri. Freshly collected feces were passed for coprological examination in order to identify parasitic eggs using the standard sedimentation technique. Results: The results show an overall prevalence of Schistosoma infection of 16%. The highest prevalence was recorded from the samples collected at the site of Day (35%). According to the species of schistosomes present in all the examined feces, four species of schistosoma were identified: Schistosoma bovis (43.75%), Schistosoma mensoni (28.15%), Schistosoma haematobium (24.82%) and Schistosoma intercalatum (3.13%). Conclusion: Findings demonstrated that intestinal schistosomiasis is prevalent in donkeys in the study areas. As a result, large-scale studies in other localities and regions of the country are now clearly needed, to better appreciate the burden of the parasitic infections for proper development of new strategic control program for donkey gastrointestinal helminths in the region of Tillabéri.