Epidemiology of Ostertagia ostertagi in dairy cow from different breeding systems

The epidemiology of Trichostrongylidae infections in three dairy cow groups reared under different conditions and in different habitats was studied with particular emphasis on Ostertagia ostertagi. In cows bred intensively in swampy lowlands (Po River Valley) the prevalence of infection was 43% and the mean intensity 567. In cows bred traditionally (Friuli, Northern-Eastern Italy), the prevalence in permanently housed cows was 24% (mean intensity: 13). In grazing cows, it was 68% (mean intensity: 120). The distribution of parasite numbers (O. ostertagi) per host was studied with the negative binomial model. The observed data were also compared by the method of cumulative relative frequencies. The results suggest that parasitism is also important in cows reared intensively.