INFECTION OF DONKEYS WITH NEMATODES SPIRURIDA CHITWOOD, 1933 IN KARAKALPAKSTAN

The research purpose was to study infection rates and dynamics for nematodes of the order Spirurida Chitwood, 1933 in donkeys in Karakalpakstan. Materials for the research were collected in several districts of the Republic of Karakalpakstan. In 2016–2024, donkeys (31 animals) were examined using both complete and partial helminthological dissection methods described by Academician K. I. Skryabin (1928). The results of our research determined a parasite taxonomic composition, morphological characteristics, and localization of helminths of the order Spirurida. The research results also showed that all the examined donkeys were infected with helminths. Among the identified helminth species, 9 were classified as Spirurida that belonged to 1 order, 6 families, and 7 genera. The conducted research found that helminths of the Spirurida order identified in donkeys had the highest prevalence recorded for Physocephalus sexalatus that was 16.1%. Such species parasitized the esophagus (1), stomach (4), abdominal cavity (1), subcutaneous tissue (1), and tendons (2) of the host organism. The donkeys were found to have no monoinfection; in the animals we examined, 2 and 3 Spirurida species were simultaneously recorded. According to V. M. Ivashkin and G. M. Dvoynos, all helminths belonging to the order Spirurida found in donkeys were biohelminths by their life cycle.