title: Host specificity of Haemonchus spp. for domestic ruminants in the savanna in northern Ivory Coast.
abstract: Three Haemonchus species (Haemonchus contortus, Haemonchus placei and Haemonchus similis) live in sympatry in the savanna of North Côte d'Ivoire. Four domestic ruminant hosts (zebu-cattle, taurine-cattle, sheep and goats) share the same pastures throughout the year. Our post-mortem data imply that a Haemonchus spp. circulation exists among the different hosts species in the savanna of North Côte d'Ivoire. Under field conditions, mixed congeneric infections were the rule except in sheep where mono-specific H. contortus infections were the most frequent. The associations H.contortus+H.placei and H.placei+H.similis were dominant in goats and in cattle, respectively. In the populations examined, triple infections occurred in 11.5% of zebu-cattle and 29% of the taurine-cattle. Considering the intensities of infections, H. contortus was the main Haemonchus species of sheep and goats whereas H. similis was very rare in these host species. About 10% of the worms recovered in goats belong to the H. placei species. In cattle, H. contortus was very rare. H. placei was the dominant species in zebu-cattle (58.7% of the identified worms) and in taurine-cattle (73.9%) nevertheless, the proportion of H. similis was higher in zebu-cattle (38.6%) than in taurine-cattle (21.3%). Only few hybrids between H. placei and H. similis were found. The importance of such Haemonchus spp. circulation is discussed.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D007560:Cote d'Ivoire; D005260:Female; D015511:Goat Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D006041:Goats; D006188:Haemonchiasis / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D006189:Haemonchus / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D008297:Male; D010802:Phylogeny; D012756:Sheep; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D013045:Species Specificity