Prevalence and epidemiology of intestinal cestodes of small ruminants in Algeria

Abstract Our study aims to identify and assess the prevalence of Anoplocephalidae parasitizing the intestines of small ruminants, as well as to study their epidemiology in Algeria. The methods used to achieve our goals are autopsy and staining. The results showed the presence of six species of tapeworms belonging to four genera : Moniezia expansa, Moniezia benedeni, Stilesia globipunctata, Stilesia sp, Avitellina centripunctata and Thysaniezia ovilla, with variable infestation rates affecting 14% of sheep and 8% of goats. Moniezia expansa is the dominant parasitic species and was found with high rates in goats and sheep. The study of factors influencing the occurrence of Anoplocephalidae showed that females were affected more than males for both hosts. Likewise, younger animals are more parasitized than the adults. The most infested animal breeds are Berber and Rembi. Our results show several parasitic associations of two cestodes worms. The most frequent association in our samples is that of Moniezia expansa - Stilesia globipunctata with a rate of 50%. The regional and seasonal studied showed that the infestation of small ruminants by Anoplocephalidae was also influenced by the nature of the climate.