Burdens of Ascaris spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. parasites in farm pigs in Ghana

Background: Worldwide, intestinal parasites significantly affect the health and production of pigs.

Objective: This study assessed the prevalence of Ascaris and Cryptosporidium infection in pigs in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality of Ghana.

Method: Faecal samples from two hundred (200) pigs on four different farms (labelled A, B, C, D) were processed using the Kinyoun modified Ziehl-Neelsen method for Cryptosporidium and the Formol-ether sedimentation method for Ascaris and microscopically examined to identify parasites to the genus level.

Results: The prevalence of Ascaris and Cryptosporidium in the pigs was 76% and 77%, respectively. The weaners had the highest Ascaris prevalence (96.15%) with the piglets recording the least (59.25%). On the other hand, the piglets had the highest prevalence (88.89%) for Cryptosporidium with the boars, sows and weaners recording 75.86%, 75.42% and 73.08% respectively. The prevalence of Ascaris was high in farm D (78.57%) while Cryptosporidium was highest in farm C (86.11%). Generally, there was a significant difference (p = 0.044) in the mean distribution of Cryptosporidium in the pigs.

Conclusion: The high burden of Ascaris and Cryptosporidium infections in the pigs suggest the need to adopt and implement effective control measures.