Gastrointestinal nematodes in grazing dairy cattle from small and medium-sized farms in southern Poland

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of gastrointestinal nematodes and the intensity of infection in grazing dairy cattle from small and medium-sized farms in southern Poland. The level of antibodies against Ostertagia ostertagi in the bulk tank milk (BTM) from the animals was also assessed. Rectal fecal samples collected from 361 cows on 20 farms were examined using Willis-Schlaaf flotation and the McMaster method. BTM samples were tested for the presence of O. ostertagi antibodies using ELISA. Multiplex PCR was used to identify the third-stage larvae (L3) of gastrointestinal nematodes derived from the culture of pooled fecal samples from sampled farms. Gastrointestinal nematode eggs were found in the samples from 18 of the 20 herds with a prevalence range from 20.4 to 94.5%. The average number of eggs excreted in the feces of the herds was 200 eggs per gram (EPG). Antibodies to O. ostertagi were found in 20 of the examined herds (100%), of which 6 had optical density ratios (ODR) greater than 0.5. PCR results showed the presence of three nematode species: Ostertagia ostertagi, Cooperia oncophora and Oesophagostomum radiatum.