Monitoring of helminth fauna of transhumant cattle in the North Caucasus

Abstract

The helminth fauna of cattle in the Russian Federation is represented, on average, by 80 parasite species, including 10 trematode species, 13 cestode species and 57 nematode species. In Kabardino-Balkaria and Dagestan, up to 65–100% of cattle population are Strongylata and Anoplocephalata infected, up to 87% are Dicrocoelium infected, up to 40% are Fasciola infected, and up to 23% are Echinococcus infected. Continuous helminth fauna monitoring tests and studies of the epizootic patterns of helminth infections in transhumant livestock in the North Caucasus are an urgent task. Parasitological examinations were carried out on the farms of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic that practise vertical transhumance at different altitudes in 2018–2022. The animals of various ages were observed on a year-round basis. The examinations covered transhumant cattle in the subalpine and alpine-subnival subzones of the mountain zone of the Republic, 100 animals per subzone. In the subalpine subzone of the mountain zone of Kabardino-Balkaria, 25 helminth species were detected in the transhumant cattle in the summer and autumn periods, and 7–11 helminth species were detected in the winter and spring periods. The following species prevailed: Dicrocoelium lanceatum, Paramphistomum cervi, Trichostrongylus axei, Trichostrongylus colubriformis, Oesophagostomum radiatum, Bunostomum trigonocephalum, Nematodirus helvetianus, Nematodirus spathiger, Ostertagia ostertagi, Teladorsagia circumcincta, Ostertagiella occidentalis, Haemonchus placei. In the alpine-subnival subzone of the mountain zone of the Republic, 16 helminth species were detected in the transhumant cattle in the summer and autumn periods, and 3–7 helminth species were detected in the winter and spring periods. The following species were found to prevail in this subzone: Trichostrongylus colubriformis, Bunostomum trigonocephalum, Dicrocoelium lanceatum, Nematodirus helvetianus, Ostertagia ostertagi, Teladorsagia circumcincta, Haemonchus placei, Oesophagostomum radiatum.