Open AccessSHORT COMMUNICATION Zoonotic helminths in fresh water snail (Melanoides tuberculata) from Uruan wetland communities of Niger Delta, Nigeria
Author(s) -
IE Ebenso,
LC Ekpenyong
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
nigerian journal of animal production
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 0331-2062
DOI - 10.51791/njap.v42i2.2679
Subject(s) - snail , wetland , helminths , niger delta , zoonosis , biology , livestock , veterinary medicine , ecology , delta , zoology , immunology , medicine , engineering , aerospace engineering
We investigated 3 study sites of rural wetland communities of Ikpa, Ibikpe and Ikot Udo for helminth parasites using water snail Melanoides tuberculata fresh specimens. Parasitological gut examination were significant (p<0.05), and revealed that Ikpa community with 90.90% was hyper-endemic for schistosomiasis, while all study communities recorded (<50.00%) endemic prevalence infection for diphyllobothriasis respectively. Egg parasitic loads were above WHO standards of <1.00 helminth egg/L. Helminths co-infection as outlined is a neglected emerging zoonosis, as these could increase livestock and public health disease burden in wetland communities.