Íslenskar landbúnaðarrannsóknir - 01.09.1975, Qupperneq 9

ATHUGANIR Á INNYFLAORMUM ÍSLENZKRA NAUTGRIPA 7
SUMMARY
Preliminary observations on parasitic
nematodes of cattle in Iceland
Agnar Ingólfsson
lnstitute of Biology, University of lceland.
Guðmundur Gíslason1)
lnstitute of Experimental Pathology,
Keldur, lceland.
In 1962 a cursory examinations was made
of intestinal nematodes of 178 cattle brought
to the Slaturfelag Suðurlands slaughterhouse
in Reykjavik, Iceland. All animals were
presumably in good health. They all origina-
ted from southwestern Iceland and were
slaughtered from January to July and ranged
in age from calves to 10-years old. In 32
animals the entire contents of the abomasum
was washed and sieved and l/100th what
remained in the sieve searched for nema-
todes while a less thorough search was made
of the abomasum of 142 additional animals.
For investigation of nematodes of small
intestine, only a small piece of intestine, 25
—50 cm in length, taken about 4 m from
the abomasum, was examined by washing
and sieving the contents. This was done for
the total of 153 animals. The colon was
investigated in only two animals, and the
caecum in only one. Lungs were examined
in 39 animals. In 19 of the these the lungs
were thoroughly washed and then disected,
but in 20 the lungs were only washed.
Counts of nematode eggs in feces were made
in 156 animals.
The following species of nematodes were
found:
Trichostrongylus axei. Recorded from the
abomasum of 14 of 32 animais (44%). The
average number in these 14 was 1140
(maximum 6200).
Trichostrongylus capricola. Found in the
small intestine of one animal (1%). Female
worms, belonging either to T. capricola or
T. vitrinus were found in the small intestine
of 4 additional animals of the 153 exa-
mined.
Ostertagia ostertagi. Ostertagia spp. were
recorded from the abomasum of all but one
of the 32 animals examined (97%), the
average number per animal being 4010
(maximum 20800). Males of O. ostertagi
were found in 27 animals (84%), the esti-
mated average number of this species in
these 27 animals being 3830.
Ostertagia lyrata. Males of this species
were found in the abomasum of 16 of 32
animals (50%), the estimated average num-
ber in these 16 being 1260.
Cooperia onchophora. Found in the small
intestine of 16 of 153 animals (10%).
No nematodes were found in lungs, colon
or caecum. Nematode eggs were found in
fecal samples of 43 of 156 animals (28%),
the average number of eggs per gramme of
feces in these 43 being 90.
This constitutes the first examination of
parsitic nematodes of cattle made in Ice-
land.
1) Deceased.