Prevalence and intensity of infection with gastrointestinal nematodes in sheep in eastern Serbia

Abstract

A coprological examination of 680 grazing sheep was performed in Eastern Serbia from March 2011 to November 2012 in order to determine the presence of gastrointestinal (GI) nematode parasites. Fecal samples were randomly collected and examined by using qualitative and quantitative coprological techniques. It was found that 74.56% sheep were infected. Samples that contained nematode eggs were processed for larval development and eleven nematode genera were identified: Haemonchus (46.91%), Ostertagia (25.88%), Marshallagia (21.91%), Cooperia (14.12%), Trichostrongylus (39.85%), Nematodirus (35.88%), Bunostomum (23.97%), Strongyloides (17.06%) Oesophagostomum (40.73%), Chabertia (32.79%) and Trichuris (10.88%). Higher prevalence of infection was observed in females (p<0.01), as well as in adults (p<0.001). Regarding the intensity of infection, in 40.63% sheep it was low, in 51.87% moderate and in 7.50% high. There was no difference in intensity of infection considering sex and age of animals. Moreover, simultaneous infection with different number of nematode genera was dependent on sheep’s age (p<0.001). These results suggest that GI nematodes are a conspicuous problem of grazing sheep in the study area.