Abstract: A total of 1109 fresh fecal samples from six cities of Henan, Shuangliao of Jilin, Chaoyang of Liaoning and Dongying of Shandong were collected and examined the presence of oocysts or eggs using the centrifugation method, the Lugol’s iodine-solution staining method and the Sheather’s sugar flotation technique. Nine kinds of intestinal parasite species were discovered and the overall infection rate was 97.2%. Eimeria spp. was the most common parasite species, with the infection rate of 93.5% and the highest OPG reaching to 652000. The infection rates of Strongylus spp.and Entamoeba were 51.2% and 71.3%, respectively, and the highest EPG of Strongylus spp. was 69400. The infection rates of Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Trichuris, Nematodirus, Moniezia and Trematoda were 1.6%, 5.7%, 9.7%, 0.3%, 5.1% and 2.6%, respectively. 80.7% of positive samples were mixed infections, with the highest number of mixed-infections being five. The infection rate was 98.5% in no more than 1-year-old sheep and 87.5% in more than 1-year-old sheep, respectively. The infection rate of parasites was 97.5% in drylot feeding sheep and 96.8% in grazing sheep. Summer and autumn had a higher prevalence of parasites, compared to winter and spring. The present results showed intestinal parasites were commonly found in sheep. Thus, the general measures for the control and prevention were needed to strengthen.

Key words: intestinal parasites; sheep; infection; survey