Epizootic situation of sheep digestive canal nematodoses in the conditions of the Central and South-Eastern regions of Ukraine

Cite this article: Melnychuk, V. V. (2019). Epizootic situation of sheep digestive canal nematodoses in the conditions of the Central and South-Eastern regions of Ukraine. Theoretical and Applied Veterinary Medicine, 7(3), 153‒157. doi: 10.32819/2019.71027 Abstract. Sheep farming is a universal industry that supplies mutton, by-products, milk and wool, ranks third place in the world by statistical indicators and belongs to the economically sound livestock industries. However, along with the significant benefits, the industry has risks connected with a large number of diseases of parasitic etiology, among which one the relevant place belongs to diseases, caused by the nematodoses of the digestive canal. The epizootic situation concerning the nematodoses of the digestive canal was studied in the farms of the Central and South-Eastern regions of Ukraine (Zaporizhia, Kyiv and Poltava regions) during 2015–2019. Coprovascopic investigations were performed on sheep of different breeds and age groups using the McMaster quantitative method, determining the magnitude and intensity indicators of the invasion. The investigations have shown a significant spread of nematodes of the gastrointestinal tract of sheep in the Central and South-Eastern regions of Ukraine. The average invasion extensiveness was 45.92 % for intensity from 50 to 2350 eggs/g of fecal. As a result of the conducted coprological investigations, the parasitism of nematodes of the series Strongylida (Railliet et Henry, 1913), Trichurida (Skrjabin et Schulz, 1928; Spassky, 1954), Rhabditida (Chitwood, 1933), were registered on the morphological characteristics of eggs isolated from fecal of diseased sheep. In percentage terms, the strongilatosic invasion was the most widespread in the territory of the investigated region and reached 44.08 % of the total number of sheep with nematodoses deseases of the digestive canal. Accordingly, the trichuriasic and strongyloidosic infestations of sheep were recorded slightly less, with a share of 31.32 % and 24.60 %, respectively. In the cross-section of the investigated regions, it was fixed that the greatest quantity of the sheep ill of the digestive canal nematodoses were detected in the sheep farms of Poltava region (EI = 54.27 %). The animal farmings of Kyiv (EI = 48.79 %) and Zaporizhia (EI = 38.21%) regions were more fortunate. The conducted investigations for the first time in Ukraine have elucidated the present epizootic condition with regard to nematodoses of the digestive canal of sheep. The prospect of further investigations is to study the fauna of the nematodes of the sheep alimentary canal of the territory of the Central and South-Eastern regions of Ukraine by the consequences of complete helminthological autopsy of the digestive tract organs.