International Journal of Livestock Research ISSN 2277-1964 ONLINE www.ijlr.org Vol 3(2) May’13 Page122 An Investigation on Trichuris Species in Slaughtered Goats in Urmia Leila Kianifard 1 *, Soraya Naem 2 , Davoud Kianifard 3 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran 1 MSc graduate of Veterinary Parasitology, 2 Professor, Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran. 3 Assistant Professor, Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran. Corresponding Author l: leilakianifard@gmail.com Rec.Date: Jan 29, 2013 23:53;Accept Date: May 02, 2013 09:02 Abstract In order to evaluation and identification of different species of Trichuris in slaughtered goats, a total number of 50 samples of large intestine were examined. This study was carried out from December 22, 2010 until September 23, 2011, at the Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University. In this study, Trichuris, Oesophagostomum, Chabertia and Skrjabinema were removed from large intestine. The results were indicated that the infection rate of large intestine with mentioned nematodes was 66 percent, 74 percent, 36 percent and 20 percent respectively. Among nematodes, different species of Trichuris were identified. In this regard, the number of 11 species was detected including, T. vondwei (28.26%), T. infundibulus (16.52%), T. discolor (14.34%), T. barbertonensis (9.1%), T. parvispiculum (7.39%), T. georgicus (6.08%), T. skrjabini (6.08%), T. globulosa (5.21%), T. ovis (3.04%), T. ovina, (2.17%), and T. tenuis (1.73%). Additionally, between these isolated species of Trichuris, the number of two species, Trichuris infundibulum and Trichuris globulosa were detected for the first time in the large intestine samples from goats under study. These two species have not been reported in Iran previously. Keywords: Nematode, Whip-worm, Trichuris species, Goat, Urmia, Iran Introduction Parasitic infections are the most important limiting factors of ruminant productivity. The contamination with some helminthes could be lower the wool production up to 66%, Vercruysse et al (1988). The goats play an important role in the economy of most areas in Iran however, in the majority regions the traditional systems have been used in goat farming. This method of farming causes to improper care and because of close contact of animals to each other, they may get infected with a variety of parasites. Helminthic infections of gastrointestinal tract in small ruminants poses a variety of limitations in animal products due to increment of morbidity and mortality rates, cost of treatments and control of parasites, Nwosu et al (2007). The conditions such as the quantity and quality of pasture, environmental temperature and humidity have an imperative role in prevalence of helminthic parasites of gastrointestinal tract, Pal and Qayyum (1993). As regards, the farming of goat in cold regions of Iran such as northwest provinces is less than warm areas; no complete study has been conducted about the prevalence and type