and species diversity of camel GIT parasites, identify risk factors associated with the occurrence of GIT parasites, and to
recommend an appropriate helminthes control and prevention options that could be used in the camel rearing areas.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Study area
The study was conducted from April to October 2018 in selected districts of Afar region. Afar National Regional
State is one of the nine federal states of Ethiopia located in the northeastern part of the country 588 kms far from the
capital. The total geographical area of the region is about 270,000 km2. It is geographically located between 39o34’ and
42o28’ East Longitude and 8o49’and 14o30’North Latitude. The climate in most of the region is hot with maximum
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temperature of 45 C in August and minimum temperature of 20 C in January. The altitude ranges from 116 m below
sea level to 1500 m above sea level. The region has an area of Low Land, with an irregular drainage system and
depression, which, is 114 m below sea level as well as some of the exposed rocks. 35.47 % of the region has an elevation
less than 400 m above sea level whereas 51.44% has an elevation between 400 to 900 and 13.09 % has an elevation
above 900 m above sea level. The region has a number of perennial rivers that include Awash, Mille, Kesem Kebena,
Awura, Gulina, Dewe, Borkena, Telalak, and numerous seasonal rivers that flows to different basins. In the region there
are also a number of lakes, such as Lake Asahle, Lake Dalol, Lake Afdera, Lake Abe, and Lake Gemeri are some
examples of the lakes in the region. The study was conducted in seven districts of afar national regional state namely
Chifra, Erebti, Burimodayito, Gewane, Dalifage, Yallo and Elidar which are potential areas for camel.
Study animals
The study was conducted on traditionally managed camel herd selected from seven districts (Chifra, Gewane, Bure
Mudaytu, Elidar, Yalo, Dalifage and Megale) of Afar region. For the prevalence study, age groups and sexes were randomly
selected from the selected herds. Due to the absence of written records, the age of animal was determined by dentition.
Study animal related information of each sampled camel such as sex, age and body condition score were collected at the
time of the study. Camel breeds in Ethiopia are one humped which are categorized under camellus dromedarous breed.
Animals that had not treated for internal parasites for at least two months during the study were considered for sampling.
Study design
A cross sectional study design was used to determine the occurrence and prevalence of GIT parasites in the selected
districts. From each selected district two peasant associations (PAs) or kebeles were selected giving a total of 14 kebelles
from the entire five zones of the region. The study districts and kebeles were selected based on the inclusion criteria such
as potential camel population, accessibility, and willingness of the pastoralists to participate in the study.
Sample size determination
Sample size was determined according to Thrusfield (2005) using an average expected prevalence rate of 50% (as
there was no previous report in the districts), 95% confidence intervals (CI) and 5% desired accuracy. Accordingly a total of
384 animals were calculated to be included in the study. However, the sample size for GIT parasites was inflated to 407 in
order to increase the representativeness of the samples to the wider population. Sampling animals were proportionally
distributed to the selected districts and PAs based on their camel population.
Laboratory analysis
The fecal samples were collected per rectum with new, unused gloves for each animal. Collected samples were put
into fecal pots, labeled and kept cool prior to transportation to the laboratory where they were immediately examined or
stored at refrigerated temperature (4 °C) for a maximum of one day before processing. The sedimentation and floatation
techniques as described by Hansen and Perry (1994) were used for parasite examination. Identification of eggs of each
Data analysis
The collected data were entered and coded to computer using excel spreadsheets and analysis was carried out using
STATA, version 11. The prevalence (p) calculated as p = d/n, where d is the number of camels diagnosed as having a
given parasite egg/oocyst at that point in time and n = number of camels at risk at that point in time. Descriptive
statistics was used to show the frequencies and chi square analysis was used to identify factors associated with the
occurrence of parasites. The level of significance was set at P<0.05.
RESULTS
Of 407 fecal samples examined, a total of 123 were found positive for at least one GIT parasite giving an overall
prevalence of 30.22% (123/407). Positive camels were harbored and excreted helminthes and/or protozoan parasites.
The prevalence of nematodes, protozoa, cestodes, and trematodes were 144 (35.4%), 28 (6.9%), 8 (1.97%) and 5
(1.23%), respectively (Table 1). Of the 132 positive facial samples, six types of helminthes/protozoan parasites
322
Citation: Ahmed EF, Aregawi WG, Urge B and Endris M (2020). Prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in camel in potential areas of Ethiopia (the case of Afar regional