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ABSTRACT
A survey of the helminth parasitic infections of wild mammals in Benin-City, was conducted. The samples comprising faecal and guts, were collected from an Abattoir in Uwa market which is located at West Circular Road, Egor Local Government Area in Benin City. The study lasted from December 2020 to January 2021. Two hundred samples which consist of one hundred faecal samples and one hundred gut samples were examined from one hundred hosts. The one hundred host animals examined, comprised 36 (36%) Antelopes, 48 (48%) Grasscutters and 16 (16%) Porcupines. Ten parasite eggs and three adult worms were recovered from the various hosts examined with an overall prevalence of helminth infection of 40%. The parasite eggs included: Enterobius vermicularis eggs, Ascaris spp.eggs, Taenia spp.eggs, Fasciola spp. eggs, Diphylidium eggs, Trichuris trichuria eggs, Trichostrongyloides eggs and hookworm eggs. While the three adult helminths were: whipworm, roundworm and tapeworm. The results showed that antelopes had the highest prevalence of infection of adult helminthes (50%) followed by grasscutters (10.41%) and none of the porcupines examined were infected. The mean intensities of infection ranged from 4.00 in antelopes to 2.00 in grasscutters. Grasscutters had the highest prevalence of infection of helminth parasite eggs (70.83%) followed by antelopes (52.78%) and it was least in porcupines (31.25%) with their mean prevalence ranging from 85.29 in grasscutters to 36.00 in porcupines. The same prevalence and mean intensity evaluation were also done according to sex ratio. Results also showed statistically, there was significant difference in the overall infection in of the host animals examined. However, there was no significant difference in infection rate according to sex of hosts examined. Proper techniques are necessary for the accurate diagnosis of helminth parasites. Parasitologists and their staff as well as other specialized personnel should reconsider their approach and utilize these important techniques in their standard diagnosis.
