The egg is fairly resistant to freezing and drying and so may tend to accumulate on field sand be carried over from one season to the next. Sheep grazing on the same pastures during consecutive seasons may pick up this residual contamination and periodic outbreaks may occur. Diarrhea, weakness, dehydration, and death may accompany heavy infections. This roundworm is commonly found in the colon of sheep, but infections are usually light. During outbreaks heavily affected sheep may show diarrhea, often spotted with blood.
Adults take approximately seven weeks to mature in sheep.
Therefore, the number of eggs passed in the manure maybe low when clinical signs are first noticed. The immature adults have been associated with thickening and inflammation of the colon. A burden of three hundred worms is considered to be a severe infection in chabertiasis. The user of this information agrees to the terms and conditions in the copyright and disclaimer . Her Majesty the Queen in the Right of Alberta.