Prevalence and Intensity of Infection of Gastrointestinal Parasites in Cavies from Menoua Division-West Region of Cameroon

Background: Domestic cavies, commonly known as guinea pigs are more widely filling a niche in livestock production in West Africa, most especially in Cameroon. Cavies have been shown to play a vital role in the animal protein supply and income generation in rural areas in Cameroon. Despite this, there is a dearth of information concerning diseases and parasites of cavies in Cameroon. The aim of this study was therefore to have an inventory of gastrointestinal parasites of cavies in Menoua Division, West Region of Cameroon; and to characterize the infection rates.

Methods: Three hundred Cavies (171 females and 129 males) aged 1 week to 1 year old were examined from May 2013 to June 2014. A qualitative (double centrifugation flotation technique) and a quantitative (Mc Master Technique) coprologic analyses were used for the egg or oocyst count of gastrointestinal parasites.

Results: Of the total number of cavies examined, 237 showed positive with one or more gastro-intestinal parasites, giving an overall prevalence of 79.0%. Six genera of gastrointestinal nematodes: Spirocerca spp. (3.0%), Trichuris spp. (3.3%); Ascaris spp. (4%); Trichostrongylus spp. (10.3%); Strongyloides spp. (10.7%); Paraspidodera sp. (31.0%) and one species of Protozoa represented by Eimeria spp. (48.7%) were identified. There was a significant difference in prevalence (P< 0.05) for Eimeria spp, Strongyloides spp and Paraspidodera sp based on locality while with respect to age group, only Paraspidodera spp. and Eimeriaspp. showed significant difference in prevalence (P< 0.05). As concerns sex of cavies, Ascaris spp was significantly more prevalent in females than in males.

Conclusion: The overall high prevalence recorded in this study clearly indicates the need for strategic parasite control in cavies with particular attention focused on middle to old aged cavies which showed significantly higher prevalence and parasitic load for most of the gastrointestinal infections.