Burdens of Ascaris spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. parasites in farm pigs in Ghana

BACKGROUND: Worldwide, intestinal parasites significantly affect the health and production of pigs. OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the prevalence of Ascaris and Cryptosporidium infection in pigs in the Ejisu‐Juaben Municipality of Ghana. METHOD: Faecal samples from two hundred (200) pigs on four different farms (labelled A, B, C, D) were processed using the Kinyoun modified Ziehl‐Neelsen method for Cryptosporidium and the Formol‐ether sedimentation method for Ascaris and microscopically examined to identify parasites to the genus level. RESULTS: The prevalence of Ascaris and Cryptosporidium in the pigs was 76% and 77%, respectively. The weaners had the highest Ascaris prevalence (96.15%) with the piglets recording the least (59.25%). On the other hand, the piglets had the highest prevalence (88.89%) for Cryptosporidium with the boars, sows and weaners recording 75.86%, 75.42% and 73.08% respectively. The prevalence of Ascaris was high in farm D (78.57%) while Cryptosporidium was highest in farm C (86.11%). Generally, there was a significant difference (p = 0.044) in the mean distribution of Cryptosporidium in the pigs. CONCLUSION: The high burden of Ascaris and Cryptosporidium infections in the pigs suggest the need to adopt and implement effective control measures.