Studies on prevalence of gastrointestinal parasitic infection in sheep in Kashmir Valley

Sheep farming is an important source of livelihood and finance elevator for landless laborers, small and marginal farmers. A study on prevalence of gastrointestinal (GIT) parasitic infestation in sheep (Kashmir Valley) in relation to month, season, and year from March 2013 to October 2016 by fecal examination was undertaken. The overall prevalence of 55.18% was observed in the present study with prevalence (%) of Haemonchus (H)/Nematodirus (Ne), Strongyloides (S), Moniezia (M), Eimeria (E), Fasciola (F), Trichotrongylus (T), and Trichuris (Tr) as 22.54, 10.84, 9.11, 9.11, 0.14, 2.56, and 0.88, respectively. The year-wise analysis revealed highest prevalence (58.87%) in 2015-16, followed by (58.35%) 2013-14 and (40.88%) 2014-15. Seasonal variation revealed highest prevalence of GIT parasites in autumn (64.03%), followed by spring (53.73%), winter (51.27%) and summer (43.82%). Month wise prevalence of GIT parasites over the years was observed highest in September (73.32%), November (64.26%), May (60.06%) and least in July (37.95%) and August (32.67%). The year, season and month wise differences were highly significant (p