Effect of non-genetic factors on the prevalence of Stilesia globipunctata in the goat

Despite its high prevalence and pathogenicity, Stilesia globipunctata is a neglected cestode infection of ruminants in the tropics and sub-tropics. The present study reports the effect of sex, age, year and month on the prevalence of S. globipunctata in the goat. A total of 5208 eviscerated intestines of the goat carcasses were screened for a period of seven years, from January 2001 to December 2007. The overall prevalence of 36.6 % was significantly affected by the factors studied (P<0.05). Male goats were more susceptible to the S. globipunctata infection than that of female (P<0.05). Goat aged between 6 months and 1 year were found to be significantly more susceptible (P<0.05) which was followed by animals between 1 and 4 years of age and then more than 4 years of age. Morbidity was high (59 to 86 %) in animals of less than one year of age. The striking observation was that the prevalence peaked during monsoon and at nadir in May.