The article presents the results of studies by local as well as foreign authors concerning economic losses caused by parasite invasions in farm animals. It also discusses the state of economic studies in parasitology, types of losses caused by parasites, principles of estimating these losses as well as the rules of their estimation and evaluation based on selected examples of animals and parasites.
A tendency towards a minimal decrease in the prevalence if icterus in swine and cattle has been observed in Poland since 1990. There has only been a slight increase within pigs (Fig. 1). The most intensive prevalence of icterus in pigs happened in 1996, in the following regions: Koszalin, Tarnobrzeg, Wrocław, Siedlce (Fig. 3) and in cattle in Poznań, Opole, Ciechanów, Leszno and Włocławek (Fig. 4). In these regions largest economic waste caused by the disease was noted. The global economic waste caused by icterus in swine was about 1 257 735 PLN and in cattle about 659 242 PLN.