An overview of intestinal coccidiosis in sheep and goats

作者：Khodakaram Tafti A; Hashemnia M^*

来源：Revue de Medecine Veterinaire, 2017, 168(1-3): 9-20.

• intestinal coccidiosis
• Eimeria species
• pathology
• small ruminants

Intestinal coccidiosis is one of the most important parasitic diseases of small ruminants worldwide. Several Eimeria species including E. arloingi, E. ninakohlyakimovae and E. christenseni in goats and E. ovinoidalis, E. ahsata and E. bakuensis in sheep are the most pathogenic. The disease is more serious in 4-6-month old kids and lambs and also when animals of any age are kept under conditions of intensive husbandry. Stress factors such as weaning, inclement weather, dietary changes, traveling and regrouping have important roles in small ruminant coccidiosis. The pathogenesis comprises three phases including one or more generations of asexual multiplication by merogony, sexual reproduction by gamogony, and asexual reproduction by sporogony. The most common gross lesions are multiple small pale nodules 1-2 mm in diameter on mucosa of small intestines especially jejunum and ileum. In advanced cases, multifocal to coalescent thickening, folding or corrugating to pseudoadenomatosis of the intestinal mucosa associated with numerous well-raised whitish nodules are seen that may be the result of mitogenic stimuli of progamonts. The main histopathologic lesions are papillary hyperplasia of villi epithelium associated with the presence of intracytoplasmic developmental stages of the parasite and infiltration of inflammatory cells. Accurate diagnosis of clinical and subclinical infections and prompt treatment, control and prevention is quite necessary for preventing of great economic losses of this disease in the herds.

• 出版日期2017