Prevalence of bovine fascioliasis in different commercial and non-commercial dairy farms of district Rajanpur,Punjab,Pakistan

Among different animal diseases which hinder the animal health,parasitic infections have a big economic impact,especially in developing countries. fascioliasis is one of the most common economically important parasitic diseases of domestic animals,particularly in cattle. the present study was carried out from june,2012 to october,2013 at different commercial and non-commercial dairy farms of district rajanpur,punjab,pakistan to assess the prevalence of bovine fascioliasis. out of total faecal samples examined,27.0% (n=64/237) were positive for fasciola (f.) species. the prevalence of bovine fascioliasis was found to be significantly affected (p<0.05) by the age of animal,in which young animals were affected more than adult animals. sex of the animal was not found as a significant factor (p>0.05) affecting the prevalence of this disease. with respect to specie-wise prevalence,f. hepatica was found to be dominant in study area with a prevalence rate of 16.45% causing bovine fascioliasis; whereas,the prevalence of f. gigantica in study area was 8.43%. moreover,mixed infection was also detected in this area with a prevalence rate of 2.11%. in conclusion,age is a major factor which influences the rate of prevalence of fascioliaisis in cattle. results of this study provide baseline for the animal health planners to formulate control strategies against fascioliasis.