Dr. Murai Éva szerk.: Parasitologia Hungarica 25. (Budapest, 1992)

The faeces to be examined was thoroughly crushed and mixed with an approximately tenfold volume of concentrated saline (specific gravity: about 1,200) in a thick-walled plastics jar, then was filtered through a metal filter into a porcelain cup having a beaker during constant mixing. The filtrate was poured into a centrifuge tube and spun for 3 min. During centrifugation and standing, the eggs rose to the surface from where they were picked with the help of a glass rod and transferred onto a slide previously smeared with a mixture of egg white and glycerol in a thin layer. The surface of the liquid column was touched three times; first the central part containing the largest number of eggs, then the surfaces nearer to the wall of the centrifuge tube. Three drops were placed on the slide and then examined under a microscope. Vermitan paste, a white, odourless preparation of Sanofi-Chinoin Pharmaceuticals Co. was used as anthelmintic at a dose of 10 mg/kg body weight on day 0. The paste was administered to the animals orally, kneaded in the soft part of bread or hidden in the inside of carrots or apples. The body weights (Lama glama 100, Lama pacos 70, Bison bonasus up to 1000 and Bison bison up to 1000 kg, respectively) were estimated according to Berthier (1986). Treatment was followed by the collection of faecal samples at specific intervals (day 1,7,30 and 60). The samples were analysed to determine the number of eggs per gram of faeces (EPG). Quantitative evaluation was performed with the help of a McMaster's chamber. Helminth eggs were identified with the help of the keys proposed by Thienpont et al. (1979) and Mehlhorn et al. (1986). RESULTS The results of the survey are shown in Tables 3-5 and in Figs 1-2. Table 3. Total egg counts of nematode species per gram of faeces Parasite eggs (EPG) L. glama B. bison B. bison B. taurus p. h. Trichostrongylus sp. 25 23 9 3 Haemonchus contortus 1 - 111 Strongyloides papillosus - 2 - Cooperia sp. - 1 - Trichuris ovis - 1 - Toxocara vitulorum - 2 Nematodirus sp. - - 1 Ostertagia sp. - - - 2 During the anthelmintic treatments, a phenomenon that could be a side effect was observed only in one case, on 12 October: after ingesting the preparation, the American bison bull showed intensive salivation and nasal discharge which lasted 3 minutes. No subsequent complications occurred in that case either.