Cooperia pectinata and C-punctata, parasites of the abomasum of cattle in northern Cameroon (Central Africa)

Cooperia pectinata Ransom, 1907 and C. punctata von Linstow, 1907 are commo n trichostrongyles of zebu cattle in Africa. Their intestinal localization within the digestive tract is considered by many authors to be exclusive. N evertheless, some limited surveys in Malagasy, Mauritania, The Gambia and C ameroon reported the presence of both Cooperia species in the abomasum. The present survey was carried out in a slaughterhouse of northern Cameroon on 17 zebu cattle and confirms the infection of the small intestine and the a bomasum by the two species within the total number of cattle examined. Abom asal infections especially with Cooperia punctata were heavier than those i n the intestine. Due to the movements of herdbreeders in Central Africa, an d to the preliminary results obtained in Mauritania, The Gambia, Burkina Fa so and Malagasy, abomasal localization of C. pectinata and C. punctata may be encountered in very large areas of Africa, and that cooperiosis may cont ribute together with Haemonchus species to the digestive disorders involvin g the abomasum. (C)2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.