BIODIVERSITY OF THE PARASITE FAUNA IN THE NORTHERN REGIONS OF ARMENIA AND THE LAKE SEVAN BASIN

The variety of parasite species, infection of domesticated animals (including cattle, sheep, goats, rabbits, poultry, dogs and pigs), natural infection of biohelminths' intermediate hosts (including terrestrial and freshwater mollusks, soil oribatid mites) with helminth larvae, and the species composition of tick vectors of blood protozoan diseases have been studied. The studies found the infection of the above animals with the following helminth species: 4 trematode species Fasciola hepatica, F. gigantica, Dicrocoelium lanceatum, Paramphistomum sp., 13 nematode species Ascaris suum, A. galli, Syngamus trachea, Capillaria caudinflata, Trichuris ovis, Tr. suis, Metastrongylus elongatus, Chabertia sp., Haemonchus sp., Protostrongylus spp., Muellerius capillaris, Dictyocaulus filaria, Cystocaulus nigrescens, 2 cestode species Moniezia expansa, M. benedeni; 9 eimeria species Eimeria arloingi, E. intricata, E. stidae, E. magna, E. perforans, E. tenella, E. acervulina, and E. exigua; 3 Haemosporidia species Babesia bigeminum, B. ovis, and B. canis; and 1 Leishmania species Leishmania tropica. There were also detected 17 species of ticks, vectors of blood protozoan diseases of animals, and intermediate hosts of moniezia were isolated. Two species of terrestrial and 3 species of freshwater mollusks being as intermediate hosts of helminths were recorded.