Etiology and prophylaxis of helminthiasis in sheep in Burkina Faso.

Helminths of "Mossi" sheep from traditional livestock were investigated at three different seasons (humid, cold dry, and hot dry seasons) in the village of Donsin from the central land of Burkina Faso. Three prophylaxis plans using Fenbendazole were tested. Primary parasites identified were: Oesophagostomum sp., Trichostrongylus sp., and Haemonchus contortus. These parasites were noticed mainly during the rainy season with mean egg per gram (epg) numbers of 500 +/- 141.42 in August-September, at the end of the rainy season. At this same period, hematocrit (22%) and body weights (17 kg of live weight) (LW) were low. These values progressively increased to reach their highest levels (32% and 27 kg of LW respectively) in February. The prophylactic plan consisting of two treatments with oral drench of 5 mg/kg LW of Fenbendazole turned out to be the most efficacious and the most economical.