author(s)
Olajide Joseph Afolabi, Iyabo Adepeju Simon-Oke and Adewole Oluwafisayo Ademiloye

abstract
The study aimed to determine the prevalence of gastro-intestinal parasites among the cattle in Akure, Nigeria. Two hundred and seventy-five cattle were randomly selected from the abattoirs, 2g of faecal sample aseptically collected were subjected to flotation method to concentrate the eggs, and the smears of the sample were air-dried and stained with hematoxylin and subsequently viewed under the light microscope using 40 X to 400 X magnifications. The results revealed four groups of parasites, these include protozoa, cestodes, trematodes and nematodes. One parasite (Isospora belli) was identified to be protozoon, three parasites (Taenia saginata, Moniezia benedeni and Avitelium spp) were identified to be cestodes, two parasites (Fasciola hepatica, Schistosoma bovis) were identified to be trematodes, while three parasites (Nematodirus spp, trichuris trichiura and trichostrongylus spp) were identified to be nematodes. Among the parasites, Enterobius vermicularis has the highest prevalence of 53.63% in male and 45.83% in female while the least prevalent is Avitelium spp which was absent in male cattle but present in female cattle (1.04%).The presence of these zoonotic parasites among the cattle in this area suggests poor veterinary care in the area. It is therefore recommended that the cattle owners and the herdsmen should be properly educated on the use of antihelminth drugs.