Gastrointestinal parasites in guinea pigs raised under family-commercial farming systems in Cusco: frequency of infection in carcasses and associated risk factors in two high-Andean communities of southern Peru.
Source: PubMed, NCBI / U.S. National Library of Medicine
Gastrointestinal parasites affect the health and productivity of guinea pigs. This study aimed to determine the frequency of gastrointestinal parasite infection among naturally dead guinea pig carcasses collected from family-commercial farms in two high-Andean communities in southern Peru, to explore associated risk factors, and to quantify the parasite burden. A total of 223 rectal samples obtained from guinea pig carcasses that had died naturally were analyzed by flotation and McMaster techniques. The study used convenience sampling of carcasses from farms with at least 200 animals. Therefore, the frequency of infection estimated in the examined carcasses should not be extrapolated to the living guinea pig population. The overall infection frequency was 80.27% (95% CI 75.05-85.49). Paraspidodera uncinata (53.81%), Eimeria spp (34.98%), Capillaria spp (24.66%), Trichuris spp (13.90%), and strongylid-type nematodes (4.48%) predominated. Among infected carcasses (n = 179), 49.16% had mono-infection, 38.55% had bi-infection, 11.17% had tri-infection, and 1.12% had four parasites. In univariate analyses, the stage increased the probability of P. uncinata (OR = 2.33, p = 0.036), the rainy season increased the odds of P. uncinata (OR = 1.75, p = 0.038), and Eimeria spp (OR = 3.09, p < 0.001), and the Ccuyo community showed higher odds for Eimeria spp infection than Mamuera (OR 
Abstract
Gastrointestinal parasites affect the health and productivity of guinea pigs. This study aimed to determine the frequency of gastrointestinal parasite infection among naturally dead guinea pig carcasses collected from family-commercial farms in two high-Andean communities in southern Peru, to explore associated risk factors, and to quantify the parasite burden. A total of 223 rectal samples obtained from guinea pig carcasses that had died naturally were analyzed by flotation and McMaster techniques. The study used convenience sampling of carcasses from farms with at least 200 animals. Therefore, the frequency of infection estimated in the examined carcasses should not be extrapolated to the living guinea pig population. The overall infection frequency was 80.27% (95% CI 75.05-85.49). Paraspidodera uncinata (53.81%), Eimeria spp (34.98%), Capillaria spp (24.66%), Trichuris spp (13.90%), and strongylid-type nematodes (4.48%) predominated. Among infected carcasses (n = 179), 49.16% had mono-infection, 38.55% had bi-infection, 11.17% had tri-infection, and 1.12% had four parasites. In univariate analyses, the stage increased the probability of P. uncinata (OR = 2.33, p = 0.036), the rainy season increased the odds of P. uncinata (OR = 1.75, p = 0.038), and Eimeria spp (OR = 3.09, p < 0.001), and the Ccuyo community showed higher odds for Eimeria spp infection than Mamuera (OR = 2.48, p = 0.002), whereas the adult stage was protective (OR = 0.16, p < 0.001). Parasite burden varied widely, with Eimeria spp reaching extreme values (≈ 1.06 × 10OPG). These findings support strengthened surveillance and integrated parasite control in young guinea pigs and during rainy season in the evaluated farms, while highlighting the need for future multivariate analyses that account for clustering by farm and include live-animal populations.