GIN parasites in LLS districts of the Australian state of New South Wales

The data originated from sheep producer submitted faecal samples to government and commercial diagnostics laboratories and shows the intensity of parasite burdens experienced by sheep (WEC, in eggs/g) kept in commercial production environments. In a sub-set of the sample submissions, a faecal culture and subsequent microscopic differentiation of cultured larvae to genus level (FCLD) was also completed, which generates a percentage composition for the genera Haemonchus, Teladorsagia, Trichostrongylus and Cooperia and a combined figure for Oesophagostomum and Chabertia. Species-level identification and quantification is not attempted in these commercial tests.\nLineage: Faecal samples are homogenised and parasite eggs are floated within a saturated salt (NaCl) solution before analysis using a compound microscope, typically at 40-100x. The count of Trichostrongylid eggs (WEC), which are distinguishable from the eggs of Strongyloides and Trichuris and from the oocysts of coccidial protozoa, is expressed as eggs/g taking into account the dilution factors and size of subsample analysed.\nA subsample of collected faeces is cultured by incubating at 25 degrees C for at least 7 days, before emergent Trichostrongylid L3 larvae are collected and characterised morphologically to assign them to genera or groups of genera (not all genera can be distinguished morphologically at the L3 stage). Species-level morphological identification is not possible in the L3 stage using standard laboratory techniques.