MONITORING OF THE INTESTINAL TRACT PARASITE LOAD AND OF THE SANITARY MANGEMENT AT A PACA BREEDING FARM

Abstract

Paca (Cuniculus paca Linnaeus, 1766) rearing has shown development in all Latin America countries.Fresh feces samples were collected from the soil and analyzed by Willis Mollay and Hoffmann’stechniques, aiming at accompanying the sanitary management, determining the prevalence ofgastrointestinal parasites, and their respective load, of pacas raised in captivity, and evaluating parasitecontrol strategies, between the months of November/2012 and June/2013. A McMaster’s camerawas used for quantification. The reading was accomplished by optical microscopy with 25x and 40xlenses, which revealed 21,433 eggs per gram of feces (EPG), with an average of 2,679,12 (± 41.0)Strongyloides spp., and 3,325 EPG, with average of 415.6 (± 57.0) Trychuris spp. Besides, 482,101oocytes per gram of feces (OPG) were found, with an average of 60,263 (± 15.93) Eimeria spp., and51 larvae of Strongyloides spp., with an average of 6.3 (± 6.86) larvae. Two eggs of Hymenolepisdiminuta were identified in only one stall. An anthelminthic (albendazole 10%) and trimethopim associated with sulfadiazine were used to treat the disease. We concluded the great index of parasiticinfestation presented by the animals, in spite of the anthelminthic treatments, can be associated withthe rainfall rates observed, the physical conditions of the instalations, as well as the adequate cleaningand sanitization of the facilities.

Keyword: Nematodes; paca; wild animal.