Abstract

Pulmonary and gastrointestinal parasitic infections represent a significant impediment to profitable livestock production, resulting in substantial economic losses. In Iraqi buffaloes, many parasites are rarely investigated with neglected of phylogenetic data. The aims of study to investigate the prevalence rates of pulmonary (D. viviparus) and gastrointestinal (F. gigantica, F. hepatica and S. papillosus) parasites using the molecular diagnostic assay (PCR) with phylogenetic analysis of local isolates for documentation and indication its identity to the global NCBI isolates/strains. A total of 530 buffaloes of various ages and sexes were selected randomly from different rural areas in Wasit province, and subjected to sampling the nasal and fecal swabs to be tested molecularly by the conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Then, a number of positive PCR products for each parasite were sequenced, submitted in the NCBI-GenBank database, and analysed phylogenetically using the MEGA-11 software. Our findings revealed that the prevalence rates of D. viviparus, F. gigantica, F. hepatica, and S. papillosus were 8.11%, 3.96%, 7.17%, and 14.34, respectively. Epidemiological data shown that D. viviparus and F. hepatica were more prevalent in buffaloes of 1-5 and >5 (11.01% and 8.72%, respectively) years than those aged

Key words: Bubalus bubalis, Liver flukes, Lungworms, Nematodes, Parasitic infection, Threadworms, Trematodes