Intestinal Strongyle Genera in Different Typology of Donkey Farms in Tuscany, Central Italy
Michela Maestrini | Marcelo Beltrão Molento | Simone Mancini | Mina Martini | Francesco Giovanni Salvo Angeletti | Stefania Perrucci
Intestinal strongyles are common helminths of donkeys, in which they may be responsible for disease and poor performance. This study aimed to identify intestinal strongyle genera in 55 naturally infected donkeys from three different farm typologies in Tuscany, central Italy, using morphological and metrical analysis of third stage larvae (L3) obtained from faecal cultures. Larvae were identified using two previous reported morphological identification keys. Moreover, eggs per gram (EPG) data were also evaluated to assess differences, if any, according to the farm typology, sex, and age of the examined donkeys. The results showed that small strongyles were prevalent in all donkey farms. In all examined farms, most (92–100%) of L3 were identified as cyathostomin species of the genera <i>Cylicocyclus</i> spp. and <i>Cylicostephanus</i> spp. Large strongyles of the genera <i>Strongylus</i> spp. and <i>Triodontophorus</i> spp., were identified at low percentage (8%), only in the single organic farm included in the study. A high agreement was observed between the two different morphometric keys used. No significant differences were found for EPG according to farm typology, and sex and age from the examined donkeys. This is the first report about genera identification of intestinal strongyles infecting donkeys in Tuscany, Italy.
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