Elsevier

Veterinary Parasitology

Volume 76, Issue 4, 30 April 1998, Pages 261-267
Veterinary Parasitology

Coccidiosis in goats in the Czech Republic

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-4017(97)00147-7Get rights and content

Abstract

An observational study was conducted to determine coccidial infections in goats of 13 farms in the Czech Republic. The prevalence of oocysts of Eimeria species in kids (less than 3 months old), weaned but not served goats (from 3 months to 1 year), and adult goats (1 year or more) was determined. Nine Eimeria species were identified in fecal samples by Sheather's sugar flotation technique. The overall prevalence of Eimeria oocysts in fecal specimens was 92.2%. Eimeria arloingi was the most common species with an overall prevalence of 84%, followed by E. hirci (63%) and E. ninakohlyakimovae (56%). Other species present were E. christenseni (55%), E. alijevi (36%), E. caprina (25%), E. aspheronica (12%), E. capriovina (6%) and E. jolchijevi (2%). Two or more Eimeria species were detected in 88% of the samples. The most prevalent species in kids was E. arloingi, while in weaned but not served and adult goats E. ninakohlyakimovae was the most frequently found. The number of oocysts excreted was generally lower in adult goats (2567.3±12 678 OPG), whereas higher number oocyst per gram of feces (OPG) were found in kids (18 565±24 888 OPG). Clinical coccidiosis was detected in two farms, and E. arloingi and E. ninakohlyakimovae were implicated as its cause. Disease was observed in kids 2 to 4 weeks after weaning and watery feces with clumps of mucus, and color changes from brown to yellow or dark tarry, weight loss, and dehydration were the most conspicuous clinical signs. At necropsy, macroscopic changes included mucosal hemorrhages and whitish nodular polyps in the jejunum were found. Histopathological changes were characterized by local hypertrophy and hyperplasia of intestinal villi, villus blunting and inflammatory infiltration in the lamina propria. Numerous developmental stages of the parasites were observed in enterocytes and lacteals of intestinal villi.

Introduction

Nine Eimeria species have been described in the goat, with oocysts distinguishable on morphology. Previously it was anticipated that sheep and goat have several Eimeria species in common, but now it appears that most, if not all, species are unique to their host (Norton, 1986; Taylor et al., 1995). Coccidiosis in goats is an important disease resulting from complex interactions between parasites and host, with many factors influencing the severity of disease. The development of clinical coccidiosis in goats is considerably dependent on the species involved. Clinical coccidiosis is most frequent caused by E. ninakohlyakimovae (Yvore et al., 1985), E. arloingi (Sayin et al., 1980), and E. caprina (Norton, 1986).

Presently, approximately 40 000 goats are kept in the Czech Republic, and the majority of them are dairy goats. Studies on coccidial infections in goats in the Czech Republic have not been carried out, and clinical coccidiosis has not been described.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of Eimeria species in goats, and analyze the effect of some factors such as coccidial species, age, and management related to occurrence of clinical coccidiosis.

Section snippets

Goats farms

A total of 13 goats farms were visited during the period from July 1993 to December 1995. Most of farms were rearing less than 100 goats and animals examined were Saanen or crossbreed goats, mainly for milk production. Kids had received colostrum for the first two or three days of life, separated from their dams, fed with a cow's milk replacer and were kept indoors. Most of the adult goats were fed with fresh grass or were kept outdoors. Goats examined were divided into three groups according

Results

A total of nine Eimeria species were found on the 13 goat farms. The overall prevalence of Eimeria oocysts in all fecal samples examined was 92.2%. Eimeria arloingi was the most common species with an overall prevalence of 84%, followed by E. hirci (63%) and E. ninakohlyakimovae (56%). Other species present were E. christenseni (55%), E. alijevi (36%), E. caprina (25%), E. aspheronica (12%), E. capriovina (6%) and E. jolchijevi (2%). Two or more Eimeria species were present in 88% of the

Discussion

The prevalence and identity of the coccidia in goats in the Czech Republic has not previously been reported. Infections with coccidia were widespread on all goat farms visited during this study. In total, nine species were identified in fecal samples. The same, or a smaller number of species, has been found in other surveys (Chevalier, 1966; Vercruysse, 1982; Norton, 1986; O'Callaghan, 1989; Githigia et al., 1992b; Cardoso and de Oliviera, 1993; Borgsteede and Dercksen, 1996; Kusiluka et al.,

Acknowledgements

We thank Marie Váchová and Veronika Schacherlová for the technical assistance in laboratory. This study was supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic, Grant No.508/93/2479.

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