The current state of fascioliasis prevalence in cattle in Ukraine

In order to study the prevalence of bovine fasciolosis in different regions of Ukraine, we analysed the generalised annual statistical reports of the State Research Institute for Laboratory Diagnostics and Veterinary and Sanitary Expertise on the results of laboratory tests of biological material. The dynamics of infection was studied for the period 2020–2023. Based on the results of our own research, it was found that the highest rates of fasciolosis in livestock were recorded in the northwestern regions: in Rivne region, the prevalence was 4.42 ± 0.58 %, in Lviv region – 3.15 ± 0.14 %, in Chernihiv region – 2.19 ± 0.19 %, in Sumy region – 3.0 ± 0.112 %, in Ternopil region – 1.98 ± 0.13 %, in Zhytomyr and Volyn regions – 1.86 ± 0.08 % and 1.64 ± 0.12 %, respectively. It is worth noting that the overall indicators of the extent of the infestation in these regions did not fluctuate significantly during 2020 – 2023. The absence of significant fluctuations in the incidence of cattle with the fascioliasis pathogen indicates the existence of stationary foci of fasciolosis infection in these regions. At the same time, a decrease in the number of studies of biological material samples from cattle by 48.4 % compared to 2020 and 2023, which is likely due to a sharp reduction in livestock during the war, means that the level of animal infection with the fascioliasis pathogen has remained almost at the same level during the observation period. It has been found that the level of cattle infection depends on the type of animal housing and feeding. Cattle kept in livestock farms, taking into account the technology of using canned feed, are less affected by fascioliasis than cattle of the private sector that graze freely.