Distribuição sazonal da carga parasitaria em ovelhas no periparto

Abstract

Gastrointestinal parasites are the health condition with the greatest impact on tropical sheep farming. Among the different categories of sheep, peripartum and lactation ewes are among the most susceptible. As the climate influences the survival and viability of the infective stage of the parasite, this work was conducted in order to verify whether there is a seasonality in the intensity of infection by gastrointestinal nematodes in this category, in animals raised in the Uberlândia region. For this, a study was carried out from a data set of coproparasitological exams from the Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Uberlândia. Data on the fecal strongyle egg counts (FEC) of pregnant and lactating sheep were tabulated, from April 2021 to April 2023. These results came from a routine health monitoring that was based on the evaluation biweekly assessment of the degree of anemia of the animals by FAMACHA© system, complemented by a monthly coproparasitological examination of each individual. The descriptive analysis of average FEC per period showed important peak of infection at the beginning of the rainy season. In the second year of the experiment, which had an autumn with milder temperatures, it was possible to observe a greater number of infected animals from February to August. Therefore, similar to other regions, a greater peak in parasitism was observed in breeding sheep during early spring. However, this is not the only critical period for control, as parasitism can occur at other times of the year, due to annual climate variations and the management adopted on the property.