The annual population dynamics of gastrointestinal nematodes in breeding sheep of the Silesian Foothills, southern Poland

Abstract

The study was carried out on an organic farm. The flock of the sheep (27 individuals) was naturally infected by parasites. The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of infection with gastrointestinal nematodes. There were found species of 3 nematode families: Trichostrongylidae (Trichostrongylus spp., Ostertagia sp., Nematodirus spp., Cooperia spp., Haemonchus contortus); Strongylidae (Oesophagostomum spp., Strongyloides papillosus, Chabertia ovina) and Ancylostomatidae (Bunostomum sp.). Three nematode genera were dominant in parasite infection: Trichostrongylus, Ostertagia and Nematodirus. The prevalence of sheep infection with gastrointestinal nematodes were nearly 100%. The main species were Trichostrongylus spp. (59.2%) and Ostertagia sp. (46%).