GASTROINTESTINAL NEMATODE FAUNA IN SMALL CATTLE IN THE EUROPEAN RUSSIA

Abstract

Gastrointestinal nematodes of small cattle are common in all Russian regions and cause diseases that can have a pronounced negative effect on the animal body. In this regard, obtaining data on the species composition of nematodes dwelling in the digestive tract of small cattle in different regions of the European part of the Russian Federation is of great scientific and practical interest since it will allow for the right strategy to control them. The study material was collected in slaughterhouses in the Moscow Region where animals were delivered from the Oryol, Astrakhan and Moscow Regions, the Republic of Dagestan and the Stavropol Territory from January to October 2023. For helminthological dissections, we used kits of gastrointestinal tracts of the sheep and goats collected immediately after slaughter. Nematodes of the species Trichostrongylus colubriformis and Teladorsagia circumcincta were found in all of the above Regions; nematodes of the species Haemonchus contortus were found in the Moscow and Astrakhan Regions as well as the Republic of Dagestan; and nematodes of the species Marshallagia marshalli were only found in the Astrakhan Region and the Republic of Dagestan. In addition to data on the species composition of gastrointestinal parasitic nematode fauna in small cattle, prevalence and infection intensity rates were determined in the above Regions of the European Russia.