Abstract

Equines contributed a lot to the livelihood of Ethiopian people in terms of income generation, public transport, ploughing, threshing and ambulatory service for sick humans and animals, however various health problems hamper their contributions and of which endoparasitism is the major one. A number of epidemiological studies conducted in different part of Ethiopia point out the burden and type of endoparasites predominantly affecting horses, donkeys and mules, together or independently for each species. So the current study review is conducted on findings of different investigators with the objective of reviewing the epidemiology and identifies the gaps in the epidemiology of equine endoparasites infection in the country. With these objectives, both published and unpublished original works of numerous investigators were collected and reviewed. With this regard, a number studies conducted in different part of Ethiopia reported a high prevalence of endoparasitism of equines, which may be as high as 100%. In addition, numerous species of endoparasite were identified at the different prevalence in different parts of the country. These studies also indicate that species, age, sex and body conditions of animals were found to be an intrinsic host factor, while climatic condition and management were identified as extrinsic risk factor contribute for the epidemiology of endoparasitism in equines. Limited accessibility of information on agro-ecological based data and lack of detailed study on the general epidemiological status of endoparasitism in different parts of the country were identified as gaps for research area. Finally, further epidemiological study on the spatial and temporal distribution of endoparasites infection in equines is recommended.

Key words: Endoparasite, equines, Ethiopia, prevalence, risk factors.