Study on the Prevalence and Species Composition of Abomasal Nematodes in Small Ruminants Slaughtered at Behshahr Town, Iran

A study was carried out to determine the prevalence of abomasal nematodes of sheep and goats slaughtered in Behshahr town from January 2012 through June 2012 with special emphasis given to Haemonchus species. During the study period 200 abomasa of sheep and 200 abomasa of goats were examined according to standard procedures. Three genera of nematodes were identified in both sheep and goats abomasa with overall prevalence of 88 % (n = 200). And 79.5 % (n = 200) respectively. The specific prevalence rates observed were 69.3 % for Haemonchus spp., 37.8% for Parabronema skerjabini, and 13.7% for Teladorsagia spp. in sheep and 69.8 % for Haemonchus spp., 31.3 % for Parabronema skerjabini and 11.8% for Teladorsagia spp. in goats. Generally a high infection rate with abomasal nematodes was observed in both sheep and goats of the study area.