Browsing by Author "Ogungbe, Adesayo Oluwasun"

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    Survey of parasites of cockroaches in Ile-Ife, Osun State
    (zoology,Obafemi Awolowo University, 2016) Ogungbe, Adesayo Oluwasun
    This study determined the parasitic fauna harboured by cockroaches and their possible role as potential carriers of parasites of medical importance in Ile-Ife, Southwestern Nigeria. This was with a view to determining the prevalence and intensity of the identified parasitic species and the possible co-infection between them. Cockroach specimens were collected randomly from ten different locations within Ile-Ife metropolis using traps made from jars coated with a thin film of Vaseline baited with banana. The traps were placed at the selected locations at 19:00 hours and retrieved at 7:00 hours in the morning. The trapped cockroach specimen were placed in labeled containers and transported to the laboratory for identification and further processing. Morphological identification of the cockroaches was carried out using standard identification keys. The lengths of the cockroaches were measured from the tip of the head to the tip of the abdomen (in centimeters). External body surface of the cockroach was washed with 2 ml of sterile saline into a petri dish, which was then centrifuged at 2000 rpm for five minutes. The supernatant was decanted and the residue was collected using a Pasteur pipette unto a clean glass slide, stained with 1% Lugol’s iodine solution and then examined under light microscope at a magnification of X400. Eggs of helminth parasites and cyst and oocyst of protozoan in the residue were identified based on the observed morphometric data. Data collected were analyzed using appropriate descriptive and inferential statistical tools. A total of 505 cockroaches comprising of two species were randomly collected and 201 (40.0 %) of the cockroaches harboured parasitic organisms. One hundred and twenty (23.8%) of the 304 Periplaneta americana collected harboured parasites while 81 (16.2%) of the 201 Blatella germanica collected had parasites. Twelve medically important parasites were encountered on the external surface and they include oocyst of Isosporasp., Toxoplasma gondii, Eimeria sp; cysts of Endolimax nana, eggs of Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Schistosoma haematobium, Dipylidium caninum, Raillietina sp., Taeniasp., Toxocara sp. and an unidentified helminth egg. There was no statistical significant difference (p > 0.05) between the cockroach species. The study concluded that the two cockroach species, Periplaneta americana and Blatella germanica harboured many parasites species which are known to cause intestinal parasitosis in humans and have potential of transmitting these parasites to human.