Prevalence and biodiversity of helminth parasites in donkeys from South Africa.

Seven donkeys (Equus asinus) from North-West and Mpumalanga Provinces in South Africa were examined at necropsy. Quantitative samples were collected from the gastrointestinal tract for recovery of helminth parasites from the stomach, small intestine, cecum, ventral colon, dorsal colon, descending colon, and cranial mesenteric artery. Fifteen genera and 29 species of helminths were identified comprising 27 species of nematodes in the Ascarididae, Atractidae, Habronematidae, Onchocercidae, Oxyuridae, and Strongylidae; 1 species of cestode in the Anoplocephalidae; and 1 species of trematode in the Paramphistomatidae. In addition, 2 species of oestrid fly larvae in the Gastrophiliidae were identified. The most abundant group in number of species was the cyathostomes (small strongyles) and, of these, Cyathostomum montgomeryi, Cylicocyclus sp. (a), and Cylicostephanus minutus were the most numerous. The most prevalent cyathostomes were C. montgomeryi and Cylicocyclus sp. n. (a). Strongylus vulgaris was the most abundant and prevalent large strongyle species. The occurrence of small strongyle species and their prevalences in this study are compared with 3 other studies on donkeys in Africa.