Prevalence, Haematological and Molecular Studies of Haemonchus contortus Isolated from Goat at AL-Muthanna Province, Iraq

Parasitic infections, especially helminthes infections of the gastrointestinal tract due to the latent symptoms, play a vital role in the growth and efficiency of ruminants. The current research was performed to determine the prevalence of haemonchosis in goats and the effect of some risk factors, such as age, sex, and months on the infection rate. Also, our study includes investigating the haematological and biochemical changes in the haemonchosis-infected goat, then utilizing the PCR technique to confirm the H. contortus diagnosis in goats. The result of the epidemiological study revealed that only ۷۳ out of ۶۹۳ examined goats were positive to infect with Haemonchus spp. at an infection rate of ۱۰.۵۳%. The incidence of Haemonchosis was related to climatic conditions, with the highest (۲۳.۰۷ %) and lowest (۴.۳۴ %) percentages occurring in October and June, respectively. Furthermore, the highest (۱۴.۰۱ %) and lowest (۴.۷۶ %) infection percentages were recorded in goats aged > ۵ years and ۹ months to ۲ years old, respectively. According to sex, infection percentages were (۱۴.۲۴%) and (۷.۰۲ %) for females and males, respectively. Haematological and biochemical parameters results revealed that infected goats suffered from a gradual decline in Hb concentration, pocket cell volume, total erythrocyte count, total leucocyte count, lymphocyte, neutrophil, total serum protein and albumin, while eosinophil count was increased significantly. Also, serum enzymes ALP, ALT, and AST showed significant increases in infected goats. The result of PCR showed that specific primers (HcI-F, HcI-R) successfully amplify the ITS-۲ rDNA gene with ۲۹۵bp -long fragment to H. controtus. Due to the effect of age, sex and season on H. contortus infection, it is crucial to have control and prevention programs and treatment schedules in the herd.