Comparative studies on the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites of pigs from Bengaluru urban and rural districts

A coprological survey was conducted on 725 pigs reared under different managemental systems from Bengaluru urban and rural districts. An overall prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) parasites was found to be 73.1%. Among infected pigs, Balantidium coli cyst (35.7%) was found to be predominant followed by Ascaris suum (26.3%), Eimeria sp. (15.7%), Trichuris suis (14.2%), strongyles (7.31%), Ascarops spp. (4.9%), Physocephalus spp. (2.06%), Fasciolopsis buski (1.24%) and Metastrongylus spp. (0.9%). Highest prevalence of helminthic infection was observed in free-range pigs (91.2%) followed by Government organized farms (67.1%) and private organized farms (65.9%). The infection rate of GI parasites was higher in piglets of age group 0 to 6 months (83.33%). Coproculture studies revealed larvae of Oesophagostomum spp. (100%), Trichostrongylus spp. (11.32%) and Hyostrongylus spp. (3.77%). Based on sporulation and morphometry, oocysts of Eimeria debliecki (86.84%), E. suis (71.05%), E. scabra (61.40%) and E. perminuta (40.3%) were recorded.