Parasitic profile of traction equids in the semi-arid climate of Paraíba State, Northeastern, Brazil

Abstract The objective of this study was to determine the parasitological profiles of traction equids from the semi-arid climate of Paraíba (PB) State. We analyzed 96 equids that performed traction work, with no defined breed, males and females, and all older than 24 months. Among the analyzed animals, 51% were donkeys, 41.7% mules, and 7.3% horses. Fecal material and blood were collected for parasitological examination and to determine the packed cell volume (PCV), respectively. The samples were sent to the Veterinary Parasitology Laboratory, Veterinary Hospital - IFPB, Sousa-PB campus, and epidemiological questionnaires were provided to the owners. It was observed that 83.3% of equids tested positive for gastrointestinal parasites. Strongylidae was the most prevalent parasite (83.3%), followed by Giardia sp. (5.3%), and Eimeria sp. (2.1%). The mean eggs per gram (EPG) value of the fecal samples was 1143. Fecal analysis revealed that 78.9% of the larvae were from “small strongyles”. The presence of ectoparasites was not observed in the studied animals. The answers to our questionnaire revealed that 69.8% of the animals had never been dewormed and that the remaining 31.2% had only been dewormed once. We concluded that the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites among traction equids in the municipality of Sousa-PB is high.