EPIDEMIOLOGY OF MANGE MITES IN SUSPECTED GOATS AND IVERMECTIN EFFICACY AGAINST INFESTED CASES IN UBA DEBRE TSEHAY DISTRICT, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Mites are one of the most common and widely distributed ectoparasites of goats in Ethiopia, contributing to major hindrances in livestock productivity in the country. Therefore, this study was carried out to estimate the mange mite prevalence, assess the potential risk factors, identify main species infesting goats, to assess the awareness level of goat owners about the disease, its prevention, and control methods and evaluate the efficacy of ivermectin in naturally infested goats, in Uba Debere Tsehay district of Gofa Zone, Southern Ethiopia from Feb 2021-July 2021. A cross-sectional study, longitudinal field efficacy, and questionnaire survey were conducted. A total of 384 goats were randomly selected and examined for the presence of mites. The overall prevalence of mange was 21.87% in the study areas. Sarcoptes species (21.09%) and Demodex species (0.78 %) were the two mite genera identified in the study area. Medium body condition were almost 2.8 times higher to be non-infested by mites (OR= 2.8) and good body condition almost 4.4 times higher to be non-infested by mites (OR=4.4) than poor body condition. Low odds of non- infestation were observed in adult animals than in young ones (OR=0.35). Odds of non-infestation of mite in goats were 78% times lower in herds above 30 than bellow 10 (OR=0.22). Odds of non infestation of mite in goats during rainy season was 61% times less likely than odds of non infestation of mites during dry season (OR=0.39). However, kebele, sex, and body site of the goats had no significant (p > 0.05) correlation with the prevalence of mite infestation. The questionnaire survey indicated that 85.94% of the participants preferred to use modern treatment options (ivermectin 1%, injection) and 76.56% respondents replied that ivermectin treatment is effective. Wilcoxon rank-sum test analysis shows that significantly (P < 0.05) fewer mites were counted on goats treated with Ivermectin than on untreated goats at each count up to day 56 after treatment. Mixed ANOVA analysis indicated that there is a significant difference within treatment groups. No live mites were found on any treated animal on days 28 and 56. This study showed that mites are one of the constraints to goat production in the study area and ivermectin was highly effective against mite in goats. Hence, there is a need to create awareness about the impact of mite on goat production, and appropriate Ivermectin treatment for mites should be implemented.