Monthly occurrence of nematode parasites of Synodontis species from rivers Niger-Benue confluence at Lokoja, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was carried out to evaluate the monthly distribution of nematode parasites of Synodontis Fish species between March 2014 and February 2015. A total of 484 fish hosts were examined for nematode parasites microscopically using sedimentation method. A total of 326 (67.4%) were infected by nematode parasites. Five species of nematodes were encountered: Procamallanus laevionchus (37.81%, 183 fishes), Rhabdochona congolensis (15.08%, 73 fishes), Spinitectus guntheri (19.42%, 94 fishes), Camallanus spp (31.20%, 151 fishes) and Contracaecum spp (14.05%, 68 fishes) and larval nematodes (1.65%, 8 fishes). The highest prevalence of 57.9% and mean abundance of 11 ware recorded by Camallanus spp in October and August respectively. Monthly variation in prevalence revealed that P. laevionchus was highest in July. There was significant difference in infections of nematode parasites between rainy and dry seasons (P