S748 Document heading doi: 10.1016/S2222-1808(14)60720-9 襃 2014 by the Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Disease. All rights reserved. Seasonal prevalence of paramphistomosis in domestic ruminants in different agro-climatic zones of Uttarakhand, India Ahana Maitra 1 , Chhotey Lal Yadav 1 , Raj Kumari Sanjukta 2* 1 Department of Veterinary Parasitology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Gobin Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarkhand, India 2 Division of Animal Heath, ICAR Research Complex for North Eastern Hill, Umiam, Meghalaya-793103, India Asian Pac J Trop Dis 2014; 4(Suppl 2): S748-S753 Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Disease journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apjtd *Corresponding author: Raj Kumari Sanjukta, Division of Animal Heath, ICAR RC NEH, Umiam, Meghalaya-793103, India. Tel: +91-9402196908 E-mail: rajkumari.sanjukta@gmail.com Foundation Project: Supported by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), NATP on Diagnosis of Parasitic Diseases of Domestic Animals (Grant No. IXX08847). 1. Introduction Helminth parasitism, especially gastrointestinal parasitism, is one of the major health problems severely limiting the animal productivity. Epidemiological pattern of the parasitic diseases in different agro climatic zones of the country would provide a basis for evolving strategic and tactical control of these diseases. The economic losses in livestock due to diseases differ from season to season [1-3] . Some of the parasites cause morbidity and mortality in domesticated ruminants and lower their production substantially, while most animals suffer continuously with sub clinical state of parasitiasis [4,5] . Paramphistomosis is one of the most important diseases in domesticated animals causing heavy economic losses to livestock industry, widely prevalent in India and many other countries [2,6-10] . The mortality rate due to immature paramphistomosis is very high and may go up to 80%- 90% in domestic ruminants. Approximately 40 species of amphistomes have been reported by Agrawal [11] , but the predominant species are Paramphistomum cervi (P. cervi), Gigantocotyle explanatum, Gastrothylax crumenifer ( G. crumenifer ) , and Fischoederius elongatus . Several of these amphistomes species have been reported in domesticated animals in India. Incidence of amphistomosis in cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats has been reported ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Objective: To establish the epidemiology of paramphistomosis in Hills and Tarai region of Uttarakhand state, India for the period from 2005 to 2007. Methods: For this purpose, 11 278 faecal samples (4 391 cattle, 2 197 buffaloes, 1 760 sheep and 2 930 goats) were collected from Hills and Tarai region of Uttarakhand for 2 years. Faecal samples were examined for the presence of paramphistomes eggs, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The data were recorded on the basis of months and prevailing seasons of the state. Results: The overall prevalence of paramphistomosis during this period in domestic ruminants was 9.69%. Also, bovines (cattle-12.4% and buffaloes-12.3%) were found to be more prone to infection as compared to small ruminants (sheep-7.4% and goats-4.9%). The peak infection was observed in the monsoon and post monsoon season (17.42%). This trend was similar for both Tarai (15%) and Hills (6.7%). The overall prevalence in Tarai was found to be 12.3% and in Hills it was 3.9%. In both Tarai and Hills region, maximum prevalence was seen in cattle with infectivity of 14% and 7.2% respectively and minimum prevalence in goat with infectivity of 8.7% and 2% respectively. Maximum mean eggs per gram was recorded in buffalo (22.05 in winter) followed by cattle (19.7 in summer), goat and sheep (18.7 and 16.33 in monsoon and post monsoon). The most common species of paramphistomes recorded were Paramphistomum cervi, Gastrothylax crumenifer and Fischoederius elongatus. Conclusions: The analysis of the data obtained revealed that prevalence was more in the Tarai region as compared to the Hills region and this pattern remained same after quantitative analysis of the samples. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Article history: Received 6 Dec 2013 Received in revised form 25 Dec 2013 Accepted 20 Mar 2014 Available online 27 Aug 2014 Keywords: Paramphistomes Prevalence Hills Tarai Ruminants