Int. J. One Health  Vol.11   No.2  Article - 1 

Cattle as reservoirs of zoonotic parasitic neglected tropical diseases: A One Health perspective on schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths in an endemic district in Ghana

Yvonne Ashong¹ , Frank T. Aboagye² , Emmanuel K. Fiankoh³ , Christopher Dorcoo¹ , Philomena Jackson¹ , Thelma Koo¹ , Clement A. Damoah¹ , Irene Ayi¹ , Charles Quaye¹ , and Dziedzom K. de Souza¹

Background and Aim: Zoonotic parasitic infections remain a major public health concern in sub-Saharan Africa, especially where humans and livestock share water sources. Cattle may serve as reservoirs for schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths (STHs), thereby undermining control programs that focus solely on humans. This study applied a One Health lens to investigate the parasitic burden in cattle from peri-urban communities near Weija Lake in the Ga South District of Ghana.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted across 13 cattle kraals (KRLs) from five endemic communities. Fecal samples (n = 131) were collected by certified veterinary officers and analyzed using sedimentation and flotation techniques. Parasites were identified through light microscopy, and prevalence data were analyzed with 95% confidence intervals. Spatial data and KRL-level variables were also recorded to assess environmental risk factors.

Results: Overall, 80.15% (105/131) of cattle were infected with at least one parasite. The most prevalent species was Fasciola spp. (58.77%), followed by Schistosoma spp. (SCH) (45.03%), hookworm (21.37%), and Taenia spp. (14.50%). Mixed infections occurred in 61.90% of cases, with Fasciola spp. SCH combinations accounting for 50% of mixed cases. Notably, Schistosoma mansoni – a typically human parasite – was detected in 1.53% of cattle. Parasite prevalence varied significantly by location, and proximity to water sources significantly influenced the risk of infection.

Conclusion: The high prevalence of zoonotic parasites, including human-specific S. mansoni in cattle, underscores the animals’ role in maintaining transmission cycles. These findings support the integration of veterinary interventions with human public health efforts under the One Health framework. Co-targeting cattle in mass deworming campaigns and implementing environmental controls are crucial for the sustainable elimination of neglected tropical diseases.

Keywords: cattle, Fasciola spp., Ghana, neglected tropical diseases, One Health, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminths, zoonoses.

How to cite this article: Ashong Y, Aboagye FT, Fiankoh EK, Dorcoo C, Jackson P, Koo T, Damoah CA, Ayi I, Quaye C, and de Souza DK (2025) Cattle as reservoirs of zoonotic parasitic neglected tropical diseases: A One Health perspective on schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths in an endemic district in Ghana, Int. J. One Health, 11(2): 186-198.

Received: 12-04-2025   Accepted: 19-06-2025   Published online: 08-08-2025

Corresponding author: Charles Quaye and Dziedzom K. de Souza    E-mail: cquaye@noguchi.ug.edu.gh and ddesouza@noguchi.ug.edu.gh

DOI: 10.14202/IJOH.2025.186-198

Copyright: Ashong, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.