Helmintofauna of goats reared in Vale do Sambito: preliminary results

Goat farming is an activity widely practiced in tropical weather countries, aiming to produce meat, leather, milk and its derivatives. Brazil (especially Northeast region) has achieved highlight in small ruminant production on the world market, generating employments and income especially for small farmers (Simpl?cio and Simpl?cio, 2006). The highest losses occurred in this activity are caused by gastrointestinal nematodes, highlighting Haemonchus sp, Trichostrongylus sp, Strongyloides sp, Trichuris sp and Cooperia sp (Amarante, 2005). The purpose of this study was to carry out diagnosis of the main parasites that infect goats in the region of Vale do Sambito, Piau?, Brazil. This study was conducted in four farms located in the municipalities of Aroazes and Francin?polis, in the state of Piau?, during february and march, 2016. A total of 230 animals was used. Fecal samples were collected directly from the animal's rectal ampoule and sent to the Laboratory of Animal Sanity of the Technical School of Teresina, where analyses for fecal egg counting (FEC) were performed. After the confirmation of infestation by larvae, a coproculture was performed for counting and identifying larvae, according to specialized bibliography. According to the results, the coprocultures showed that 100% of the helminth infections in goats were caused by the superfamilies Trichostrongyloidea and Rhabdiasoidea: Haemonchus contortus - 32.5% of the animals; Strongyloides sp - 17%; Trichostrongylus sp - 46.25%; Oesophagostomum sp - 4.75%; and Cooperia sp - 2.5% of the animals. These findings corroborates the findings of Ahid et al. (2008), who evaluated gastrointestinal parasites in goats in the western Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, as well as the results obtained by Adriola et al. (2011), in Grossos, state of Rio Grande do Norte. Strongyloides sp, Haemonchus contortus and Trichostrongylus sp were present in all the farms investigated, in which Trichostrongylus sp was the most prevalent. These findings disagree with those found by Lima et al. (2010), in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, where Haemonchus contortus was the most common. The knowledge about the helmintofauna of goats of a certain region is essential for a more suitable conduction of goat farming, mainly with respect to the control of parasites, since these helminths have caused great damages in small ruminant production.