Prevalence of mites infestation in smallholder pig farms in selected villages in Roma Valley, Lesotho

Abstract

Studies to elucidate the magnitude of mites problem in pigs, its distribution and the possible risk factors associated with infestation are lacking in Lesotho. A cross sectional study was conducted from 138 pigs selected from 70 households to determine the prevalence of pig mites and its associated risk factors. The structured questionnaires were administered to gather information from 70 pig farmers on pig management and potential risk factors for mite infestation. Binary logistic regression within SPSS (20.00) was used for determining the prevalence of mites in different parameters. Out of 138 pigs examined 91 (65.9%) tested positive for Sarcoptes scabiei. Female (56.5%) pigs were significantly (p<0.05) more infected than males (11.5%). The prevalence of mites differed significantly (p<0.05) between different age groups where young (41.4%) pigs had higher infection than adult pigs (26.5%). In terms of body regions, there was no statistical significant variation on the prevalence of mites between the back (53.6%) and the flanks (50.0%) however, both of these rates were significantly higher than the prevalence rate recorded for the ears (26.1%). It is concluded that pig mites represent a common health problem whereby sex, age and body region are important risk factors associated with infestation.