Sazonalidade da infecção por estrongilídeos gastrointestinais em ovinos criados na região de Uberlândia, Minas Gerais

Abstract

This study was conducted in order to know the prevalence of different gastrointestinal parasites that affect sheep in the region of Uberlândia-MG, from 2014 to 2016. Sheep were crossbred dorper x santa inês, and their sanitary management was based on the biweekly evaluation with FAMACHA© system and monthly individual collection of feces to determine the fecal egg counts (FEC). Whenever individual samples had FEC higher than 500 eggs per gram (EPG), the feces were pooled to perform coprocultures. The data from these laboratory analysis consisted to a database that was compiled for compare differences over the months and between young and adult sheep. The non-parametric KRUSKAL WALLIS (1952) test and then the DUNN (1964) test were used to compare strongylid FEC averages over the months. For comparison between lambs and adult sheep, the non-parametric MANN WHITNEY (1947) test was used. In both cases, a probability of p<0.05 was adopted for the differences to be considered significant. An identification of the strongylid larvae recovered from the comprocultures revealed that Haemonchus sp. was the most common genus at all times of the year, followed by Trichostrongylus sp. and Oesophagostomum sp.. In most months, there was no significative difference between FEC of adult and young sheep. But when differences did occour, young animals had significantly higher FEC. Besides to strongylid parasites, eggs of Strongyloides sp., Moniezia sp., Srkrjabinema sp. and Eimeria spp. oocysts were found. According to the findings of this work, the FAMACHA© system can be used as a criterion for selective treatment of sheep in the Uberlândia region since Haemonchus contortus is the most frequent parasite in all categories and seasons of the year. However, it is important to associate this method with another tool that allows the diagnosis and treatment of animals that present significant loads of other parasites that are not hematophagous.