Comparative Susceptibility of Dera Din Pannah and Nachi Goat Breeds of District Muzaffargarh, Pakistan to Gastrointestinal Parasites with Special Reference to Hoemonchus Contortus

Abstract

Goat (Capra hricus); the poor man’s cow is considered as integral part of various farming systems, particularly for non-agriculture community and resource poor farmers. Gastrointestinal nematodes (GINs) remains a major constraint associated with the production of small ruminants under grazing/browsing conditions. Goat are usually infected with wide range of GINs including: Haemonchus (H.) contortus, Teladorsagia circumcincta, Trichostrongylus colubriformis, Strongyloides papillosus and Marshallagia marshalli. The GINs control strategies that usually adapted are chemotherapy, vaccination, pasture exposure, ethnoveterinary practices, pasture and grazing management and genetic selection of lines or breeds of hosts (e.g goats). The present study was planned to determine the susceptibility of Dera Din Panah (DDP) and Nachi breeds of goats towards natural GI nematode infections and artificial infection with H. contortus. To this end, a cross sectional study for a calendar year was conducted in Muzaffargarh district of Punjab, Pakistan to check the frequency distribution of GINs and associated risk factor in DDP and Nachi breeds of goat. Data regarding intrinsic and extrinsic factors associated with GI nematode distribution was collected on predesigned questionnaire. For in vivo experiment, a total of 48 goats of DDP and Nachi breeds (24 for each breed) were administered with third stage infective larvae of H. contortus through early and late infection protocol. The differences in faecal egg count (FEC), post necropsy worm count, rate of establishment of infection, packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin (Hb), eosinophils, FAMACHA score, total serum protein (TSP), serum albumin (SA), IgG, IgE, plasma histamine and body weight were ascertained to assess the comparative susceptibility of both breeds. Results of the current study revealed that both breed of goat were infected with GINs. The goat age, breed, gender, husbandry practices and season were found statistically associated (P<0.05) with distribution of GINs in DDP and Nachi goats. During in vivo study, both breeds reflected significant (P<0.05) differences in aforementioned parameters at different time interval post infection and infection protocols. However, Nachi breed showed a compromised response towards artificially infection with H. contortus as compared to DDP breed. Over all, higher faecal eggs count, higher No. of adult worm recovery along with significant reduction in packed cell volume and haemoglobin, lower production of antibodies (IgG, IgE) and plasma histamine depicted that Nachi breed is comparatively more susceptible to H. contortus infection as compared to DDP goat breed. In conclusion, two different goat breeds showed different response towards H. contortus infection. Furthermore, this vi variation in response may formulate the base of selective breeding of resistant goat breed (DDP) in the area. This practice may enhance the economy of the herd owners in terms of negligible parasitic infections, cutting off treatment cost, low morbidity/mortality and high production Key words: Goats breeds; Gastrointestinal nematodes, DDP; Nachi; Susceptibility, Haemonchus contortus, Pakistan.