PREVALENCE OF HAEMOPARASITES AMONG THE

SHEEP IN OYO

BY

SULAIMON, QOWIYY ADEBOWALE

HND/210736

DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL HEALTH TECHNOLOGY

SUPERVISOR: DR. ADELAKUN, O. D.

SEPTEMBER, 2023
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 INTRODUCTION
• Livestock production is the most important agricultural activity in most of the
countries in the tropical and sub-tropical regions where production vary from
sophisticated commercial to communal subsistence types (Webb et al., 2004).
• Small ruminants which include sheep and goats represent an important
segment of the livestock system in Nigeria (Ademola and Onyiche, 2013).
• The most available breeds of sheep in Nigeria are mainly indigenous which
include the West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep, Balami, Uda and Yankasa. Out
of these four major indigenous breeds of sheep in the country, the WAD breed
are most commonly found in the southern region while the Balami, Uda and 2
 INTRODUCTION CONT.
Yakansa breeds in the northern region of the country (Lawal-Adebowale,
2012).
• Haemoparasitic diseases in sheep caused by the various haemoparasites is
widespread in some parts of Nigeria and they occur in the northern, southern
and western regions of the country (Opara et al., 2016; Ukwueze and
Ekenma, 2015).
• Haemoparasitic disease especially Babesiosis, Anaplasmosis, Theleriosis and
Trypanosomosis are considered as major impediments to ruminant production
including sheep (Lako et al., 2007; Useh et al., 2006). 3
 JUSTIFICTION
• Parasitic diseases have debilitating impact on both human and animal health
worldwide. Proper understanding of the epidemiology of these diseases is a
prerequisite to a rational design for the effective control and preventive
strategies against these dreadful diseases. Therefore, there is needs to
investigate the haemoparasites among the sheep in Oyo.

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 OBJECTIVES
• To investigate prevalence of haemoparasites among the sheep in Oyo.
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
• Experimental site
This experiment will be carried out at the Sheep markets at Akulemu, Owode
and Ilora and some households in Oyo.
• Sample collection
The samples will be collected from different locations in Oyo. One hundred
and fifty (150) blood samples will be collected from sheep of all ages, breeds
(Yankasa, WAD, Uda, and Balami) and both sexes. The sample size will be
determined from previous prevalence of 15.3% (Opara et al., 2016).

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 MATERIALS AND METHODS CONT.
Approximately 2ml of blood will be collected from each animal through the
jugular vein and dispensed into sample bottle containing Ethylene Diamine
Tetra Acetic Acid (EDTA) as anticoagulant and transported in ice packed to
Department of Animal Health Technology Laboratory of the Oyo State
College of Agriculture and Technology, Igboora for parasitological analyses
within hours of collection.
•Sample analysis
All the samples will be subjected to wet mount examination within 6hours of

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 MATERIALS AND METHODS CONT.
collection to check for motile parasites such as trypanosomes and
microfilariae. Thin blood smear will be performed as described by Hendrix
and Robinson, (1998). The smears will be allowed to dry and later examined
under light microscope (×100 magnification/oil immersion).
•Statistical analysis
All the data generated from this study will be analyzed using descriptive
statistics and the prevalence (%) of haemoparasites will be expressed in
percentage as described by Thrusfield, (2005).

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 REFERENCES
Ademola, I. O. and Onyiche, T. E. (2013). Haemoparasites and haematological parameters of slaughtered Ruminants
and pigs at Bodija Abattoir, Ibadan, Nigeria. African Journal of Biomedical Research, 16(2): 101 – 105.

Hendrix, C. M and Robinson, E. (1998). Diagnostic Parasitology for Veterinary Technicians. 3rd Edition, 246-247.

Lawal-Adebowale, O. A. (2012). Dynamics of ruminant livestock management in the context of the Nigerian
agricultural system. Livestock Production, 4: 1 – 20.

Opara, M. N., Santali, A., Mohammed, B. R. and Jegede, O. C. (2016). Prevalence of Haemoparasites of Small
Ruminants in Lafia Nassarawa State: A Guinea Savannah Zone of Nigeria. Journal of Veterinary Advances, 6(6):
1251 – 1257.

Thrusfield, M. V. (2005) Veterinary epidemiology (3rd edn.). Blackwell Science Oxford, London, UK., pp. 483.

Useh, N. M., Ajanusi, O. J., Adamu, S., Agbede, R. I. and Esievo, K. A. (2006). Haemoparasites of goats reared on
free range in Zaria, Nigeria. Nigeria Journal of Parasitology, 27: 54 – 57.

Webb, E. C and Mamabolo, M. J. (2004). Production and Reproduction Characteristic of African Indigenous goats in
communal farming system The South African Journal of Animal Science, 34 (1): 236. 9
Thank you for listening!

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