The aim of the study was to compare the intestinal parasite fauna occurring in pigs kept in different rearing conditions (group A – extremely extensive, B – extensive and C – intensive). In the period between March and July 2010, 345 samples of faeces from piglets (125), weaners (60), fatteners (94) and sows (66) were collected and tested, using standard coproscopic methods. Six parasitic species, belonging to phylum Nematoda (Strongyloides ransomi, Ascaris suum, Oesophagostomum dentatum, Trichuris suum) and to phylum Apicomplexa (Isospora suis and Eimeria debliecki) were diagnosed. Eggs of Toxascaris leonina, a parasitic roundworm mostly affecting the members of the Canidae and Felidae families, not encountered in pigs until now, were found in the faeces of fatteners. The highest level of parasite invasion was recorded in pigs from group A and B; they were multi-species invasions. Parasitic species found in faeces not only bring economic losses, but they may also be dangerous for human health and life, which indicates the necessity to implement parasitological screening protocols, especially in the extensive rearing conditions.
