Abstract

Livestock production is a major sector of Nigeria`s economy. Ruminant livestock (principally cattle) are susceptible to hemoparasites that can cause serious clinical disease and production losses. A total of 100 blood samples were randomly collected from cattle at the point of slaughter in the Central Abattoir between the month of June and September, 2018. Packed Cell Volume (PCV) was determined and haemoparasites were studied using Giemsa’s staining of smears and haematocrit centrifugation technique was used to detect the presence of motile haemoparasites .The overall prevalence of haemoparasite infection was 70 (70%). Three genera of haemoparasite, (Babesia, Theileria and Anaplasma species) were identified. Babesia sp, 40 (40%) had the highest prevalence compared to Anaplasma sp 20 (20%) and Theileria sp with 10(10%) had the least prevalence. The mean PCV of the infected cattle (13.5 ± 0.44a) showed significant decrease at p

Key words: Abattoir,Cattle, Haemoparasites,Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Prevalence