Prevalence of Strongyles in Buffaloes of Jammu Region

The prevalence of strongyles in buffaloes of Jammu region was carried out during a one year study by faecal examination and an overall prevalence was recorded as 5.59% (94/1680). The highest prevalence was found in the winter season (9.2%) followed by post-monsoon (6.4%), monsoon (3.3%) and summer (3.3%) seasons. Age wise, the highest prevalence was recorded in animals above six months to one year of age (10.38%) followed by above one year of age (5.49%) and below six months of age (3.9%). Male animals had higher prevalence (5.73%) than the females (5.58%). Between agro-climatic zones, the buffaloes of rain-fed areas had higher prevalence (6.2%) in comparison to irrigated areas (5.0%). DNA was extracted from the nematode larvae and subjected to PCR. The conventional PCR targeting ITS-2 gene fragments revealed the presence of Ostertagia and Trichostrongylus species by amplification of the 293 bp and 237 bp fragments, respectively. It is concluded that season and age have direct effect on the prevalence of strongyles in buffaloes of Jammu region and administration of suitable anthelmintic particularly during summer and post-rainy seasons can reduce the burden of strongyle infections.