Helminths of small ruminants and the influence of environmental factors on the formation of helminth fauna

Research works were conducted in the Mountain-Shirvan and Shirvan-Salyan economic districts used as winter and summer pastures for the development of cattle breeding in Azerbaijan in 2012– 2022 for taxonomic study of helminth fauna of small ruminants and identification of the invasive species. The helminth fauna of small ruminants was investigated, and the intensity and extensiveness of infestation were determined. 32 species of nematodes, four species of trematodes and eight species of cestodes were detected in sheep in the Mountain-Shirvan economic region, 23 species of nematodes, four species of trematodes and six species of cestodes were detected in goats. 35 species of nematodes, four species of trematodes and five species of cestodes were found in sheep in the Shirvan-Salyan economic region, 19 species of nematodes, two species of trematodes and five species of cestodes were found in goats. Nematodes belonging to 15 genera were found in sheep in both economic regions – Chabertia, Bunostomum, Oesophagostomum, Trichostrongylus, Ostertagia, Marshallagia, Cooperia, Haemonchus, Nematodirus, Trichocephalus, Protostrongylus, Dictyocaulus, Muellerius, Cystocaulus, Gongylonema. In goats, no species belonging to the genera Muellerius and Gongylonema were found, and nematodes belonging to 13 genera were found. In the Mountain-Shirvan economic region, the sheep trematode fauna included four species belonging to three genera: Fasciola hepatica, F. gigantica, Paramphistomum cervi, Dicrocoelium lanceatum. In the economic region of Shirvan-Salyan, 4 species of trematodes were found in sheep and 2 species in goats. The fauna of cestodes in small ruminants differed in economic regions. In the Mountain-Shirvan region, 8 species were identified in sheep (Moniezia expansa, M. benedeni, M. autumnalia, Avitellina centripunctata, Thysaniezia giardi, Cysticercus ovis, Echinococcus granulosus, Coenurus cerebralis), and in goats – 6 species (Moniezia expansa, M. benedeni, M. autumnalia, Avitellina centripunctata, Th. giardi, E. granulosus). In the economic region of Shirvan-Salyan, 5 species were found in sheep and goats (Moniezia expansa, M. benedeni, Avitellina centripunctata, Thysaniezia giardi, Echinococcus granulosus). The helminth fauna of sheep in the Mountain-Shirvan economic region amounted to 44 species, and that of goats – 33 species. In the Shirvan-Salyan economic region, 44 species of helminths were found in sheep, and 26 species in goats. Analysis of the results of 10-year studies shows that for the last 5 years the helminth fauna of small ruminants in this area has become more diverse, the intensity and extensiveness of infestation have increased, and associative infestation with helminths belonging to different classes is observed. 

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