Prevalence and risk factors for gastrointestinal parasites in small-scale pig enterprises in Central and Eastern Uganda
Journal Article
In Eastern Africa, small-scale pig keeping has emerged as a popular activity to generate additional household income. Infections of pigs with gastrointestinal helminths can limit production output, increase production costs, and pose zoonotic risks. A cross-sectional, community-based study in three districts in Eastern and Central Uganda examined the prevalence of gastrointestinal helminthes and associated risk factors in 932 randomly sampled pigs. Using the combined sedimentation-flotation method, 61.4 % (58.2–64.5 %, 95 % confidence interval [CI]) tested positive for one or more gastrointestinal helminths, namely, strongyles (57.1 %, 95 % CI), Metastrongylus spp. (7.6 %, 95 % CI), Ascaris suum (5.9 %, 95 % CI), Strongyloides ransomi (4.2 %, 95 % CI), and Trichuris suis (3.4 %, 95 % CI). Coccidia oocysts were found in 40.7 % of all pigs sampled (37.5–44.0 %, 95 % CI). Significant differences across the three districts were observed for the presence of A. suum (p