Gastrointestinal helminths of intensively managed poultry in Kwara Central, Kwara State, Nigeria: Its diversity, prevalence, intensity, and risk factors

Seven helminth species were detected with Heterakis gallinarum (10.2%) and Ascaridia galli (6.0%) been the most prevalent, while Capillaria species was the least prevalent (0.8%). Physiological status, bird type, production purpose, farm age (years), presence of other animals in the farm, flock size (birds), farm size (acres), housing type, farm type, frequency of anthelmintic use, distance to waste area (meters), level of biosecurity, and frequency of cleaning the pen were the risk factors significantly (p<0.05) associated with the presence of helminth infections.

Conclusion:

This study shows that helminth infections are endemic in the study area, as 66.7% of the sampled farms were infected with one or more helminth species. Findings from this study provide information that will assist in improving the poultry sector in Kwara State, Nigeria in general, for better production and profitability.

Keywords: epidemiology, gastrointestinal helminths, Kwara State, Nigeria, poultry