[Occurrence of nematodiasis among sheep and goats]

The spread was studied of sheep and goat nematodirosis in the conditions prevailing in the district of Varna for the 1973-1975 period. Füleborn's method was employed with a total of 24,909 coprosamples taken from the animals as follows: sheep--12,690, weaned lambs--7370, lambs--3355, kids--782, and goats--712. Partial helminthologic postmortem examinations were carried out by the digestive method of 104 sheep, 33 goats, 142 weaned lambs, 96 lambs, and 35 kids. The percent of infected animals was determined on the basis of the coprostudies as follows; lambs--20.9 (per cent), kids--26.6, weaned lambs--54.9, sheep--22.6, goats--24.8. The necroscopic investigations revealed 32.3, 40, 64.8, 32.5, 39.4 per cent, respectively. The average parasite burden in number of helminths was 313 (lambs), 85 (kids), 1517 (weaned lambs), 586 (sheep), and goats--290. Greatest number of Nematodirus parasites was found in weaned lambs--16,000, followed by sheep--2260, lambs--1840, goats--800, and kids--240. As many as 100 per cent Nematodirus carriers were found on a sheep farm in the district. It was also found that the north plains of the district are less infected as against the south parts embracing the northern slopes of the Balkan mountain, and along the course of the Kamchia river. It was found that sheep on the private farm-holdings were more strongly infected than those on the cooperative farms. On the other hand, it was established that on farms where lambs and weaned lambs graze together with the adults the former prove more strongly infected than those that are on isolated grasslands.