Comparative efficiency of methods of quantitative coproovoscopic diagnostics of strongylidoses of the digestive tract of sheep

Abstract

Helminthoses of sheep is widespread in various natural and climatic conditions of many countries of the world, including Ukraine. Among them, strongylidoses of the digestive tract is most often diagnosed. Helminths parasitize in the organs and tissues of animals and cause pathological changes in them, causing a negative impact on all body systems and, in particular, on the immune system, causing secondary immunodeficiencies, contributing to the development of secondary infections, reducing the body's resistance and productivity of sheep. The aim of the work was to determine the effectiveness of the proposed method of quantitative coproovoscopic diagnosis of strongylidoses of the digestive tract of sheep and to compare its sensitivity with commonly known methods. The proposed useful model refers to the field of veterinary medicine, namely, veterinary parasitology, methods of coproovoscopy, in particular, quantitative methods of detecting eggs of strongylides pathogens of the digestive tract of sheep. In laboratory conditions, the proposed method and well-known methods of quantitative coproovoscopy (method of counting helminth eggs in feces according to Liashenko, centrifugal-flotation method according to Taylor) were compared when conducting laboratory diagnostics of strongylidoses of the digestive tract of sheep. It was determined that when using the tested methods, 100 % of strongylides eggs were detected in the digestive tract. The proposed method turned out to be the most effective in terms of indicators of the intensity of strongylidous invasion, where its sensitivity was significantly higher by 1.2 times – compared to the centrifugal-flotation method according to Taylor and by 5.9 times – compared to the method of counting helminth eggs in feces for Liashenko. The flotation liquids used in the proposed method and the centrifuge-flotation method showed the highest coagulation properties relative to undigested fodder residues, where a small amount of small undigested fodder residues were attached to the slide, which increased the efficiency of microscopy. The obtained results of parasitological studies indicate the expediency of using the proposed method of quantitative coproovoscopic diagnosis of strongylidoses of the digestive tract of sheep for a more effective lifetime diagnosis of the aforementioned infestations.