BACKGROUND: Despite the use of prophylactic chemotherapy and vaccination, coccidiosis is still one of the most devastating diseases in poultry industry. Understanding the immune mechanism helps researchers to prevent this parasitic infection more effectively. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antibody response in chickens, induced by a live attenuated vaccine (Livacox Q), before and after challenge, by means of ELISA. METHODS: One hundred and twenty one-day-old male Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly divided into 4 groups of 30 birds. In 4th day of age, half the birds were orally vaccinated. The challenged groups received the infective dose at 14th day of age via oral administration. Besides recording weight gain, lesion score and oocyst count in 21st day old birds, humoral immunity was assessed by means of ELISA on serum samples taken from 7 and 21day-old birds. Results: Three days post vaccination, the average of optical density (OD) showed significant difference between vaccinated (0.553) and unvaccinated (0.686) birds (p≤0.05). In 21 day-old birds, the OD of unvaccinated-unchallenged (negative control) groups (0.331) differed significantly with vaccinated-unchallenged (0.663) birds. The average of lesion score in vaccinated-challenged birds (2.22) showed significant dissimilarity with unvaccinated-challenged groups. No difference and correlation were observed in comparing average of weight gain and oocyst count with serum optical density among treatment and control groups. ConclusionS: The results indicated that ELISA can be used for evaluating immunity uniformity of a flock after vaccination. Besides inducing antibody responses comparable to challenge with wild oocysts, vaccination with live attenuated coccidiosis vaccines may have inhibitory effects in intestinal lesion scores which are responsible for pathogenesis and economic loss during coccidial infections.

The effect of Antioxidant organic sulfur compounds on performance, prooxidant–antioxidant balance (PAB) of the Eimeria-infected broiler chickensBACKGROUND: Use of Garlic Powder (GP) and Total Sulfur Amino acid (TSAA) can improve redox status of broiler chickens fed with and infected by Eimeria and recover the negative effects of coccidiosis. OBJECTIVES: This experiment was carried out to evaluate the effects of GP and TSAA on feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and prooxidant–antioxidant balance (PAB) of the chickens challenged with Eimeria oocysts species mix. METHODS: A 2×2×2 split-plot-factorial arrangement of treatments was used. 400 day-old male broiler chickens (Ross 308) were equally assigned to two plots (4 treatments each). Two hundred of the chickens were challenged with Eimeria oocysts species mix by oral inoculation at day 34 (infected plot) and the others were left as unchallenged (uninfected plot). In each plot, broiler chickens were randomly assigned to four treatments and fed one of following diets: basal diet, basal diet plus 0.5% GP, basal diet plus 50% more TSAA based on Ross 2009 recommendations, basal diet plus 0.5 % GP and 50% more TSAA based on Ross 2009 recommendations. RESULTS: The results showed that after inoculation birds with 7.5×102 Eimeria oocysts species mix significantly (p<0.05) reduced the FI to 20% and increased FCR to 14% and also increased serum PAB (p<0.05), especially for infected broilers that were fed with basal diet, however, supplementation of GP and TSAA were better for broiler chickens in infected plot than uninfected plot. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that addition of GP and TSAA to diet may recover the negative effects of coccidiosis  and  improve the performance and redox of broiler chickens infected by Eimeria.

Coccidiosis caused by Eimeria species, with great economic importance infecting numerous species including small ruminants. The current study aimed to determine the occurrence of Eimeria subclinical infection in Sulaymaniyah provinces, during March 2021 to February 2022. A total of 260 fecal samples (152 sheep and 108 goats) were collected from small ruminants&rsquo; farms belong to four regions. Fecal floatation technique was applied for examination of fecal samples. Coprological examination revealed that Eimeria spp. parasitized the intestine of 133 animals with infection rate of 51.15%. Both sheep and goats represented subclinical coccidiosis with infection rates of 52.63% and 49.07% respectively. Mixed infection with more than one Eimeria spp. was dominant and found in sheep 60.00% and goats 40.00%. However, infection by single species was revealed in sheep 58.62% and goats 39.66% goats. The frequency of subclinical coccidiosis was higher among animals in Bakrajo 53.85%, and lower in Qaradagh 46.67%. The impacts of age on prevalence rate revealed that small aged animals harbored the higher infection rates of 65.45% and 62.86% in lambs and kids respectively. The represented data find out higher incidence of coccidiosis during the wet seasons of the year 56.8%. In the present study different Eimeria species was recognized, 9 species from sheep and 5 species from goats. It has been conducted that coccidiosis was a moderately common intestinal pathogen among sheep and goats in the study area.

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the oxidative damage caused by lipid peroxidation due to renal coccidiosis by histopathological and immunohistochemical methods. Material-The material of this study was made up of tissue samples taken from 139 geese whose average age was 10 weeks, who were brought to our department dead between 2013-2020. Tissue samples taken were fixed in 10% buffered formaldehyde solution. 5 µm-thick sections were taken from the paraffin blocks prepared after routine tissue follow-up procedures. Hematoxylin & Eosin staining was applied to the sections in order to detect histopathological changes. Sections were examined and photographed under a light microscope.Various clinical signs such as fever, respiratory distress, weakness, anorexia, tremors, inability to get up from the ground, balance disorders, rotational movement, diarrhea, wheezing were detected in geese. In systemic necropsies of geese, large and small white nodular structures were detected in the kidney. In histopathological examinations, coccidiosis agents (E. truncata) were found in the tubular epithelium of the kidney. Necrosis and mononuclear cell infiltration were observed in the tubules due to the presence of E. truncata. In addition, edema and hyperemia in the lungs, multifocal necrosis in the liver, cell infiltration in the portal spaces and enteritis were other important histopathological findings. In one case, aspergillosis was detected together with renal coccidiosis. We observed that MDA expression was more severe in oocyst stages, which is the mature form of the parasite, compared to other parasitic life stages.Based on the results obtained from this study, it was revealed that renal coccidiosis in geese caused lipid peroxidation / oxidative damage through the increase in MDA expression.

A study was carried out to detect and identify the presence of coccidia oocysts in the faeces of village chicken from the district of Pasir Putih, Kelantan, West Malaysia. A total of 135 fecal samples were collected from 15 areas in the Pasir PutihDistrict. The faecal samples were examined by direct smear method (qualitative study). A pinch of the faeces was put onto the glassslide with 1-2 drops of normal saline and cover slip, which was then observed under the compound microscope to detect thecoccidia oocysts. The presence of coccidia oocyst was then identified by its size and shape. Results showed that ten out of 135 samples were positive for coccidia oocysts, and classified as Eimeria maxima and Eimeria mitis, both of which are from two locations at Kampung Chap Banir, Pasir Putih, Kelantan. The remaining 125 samples were observed to be negative. This may suggest that the chickens reared in the backyard (extensive)are less susceptible to the coccidia infection due to their environment with lower stocking density (mostly free ranging chicken), and no damp/wet litter as bedding which canfacilitate sporulation of the coccicia oocyst thereby spreading the infection. Further studies need to be done to elucididate other factors which may affect coccidial infections in free range chicken such as the availability of medications in feed or genetic hardiness and tolerance to field infections. The localvillage chicken industry is an up and coming facet of the poultry industry and needs concerted efforts to boost it.

A thirty-five week old elk was referred for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) confirmation from Chungnam province in Korea. Necropsy revealed much bloody contents in the lumen of small and large intestines, and reddening of its mucosa. Microscopically, few coccidia showing various developmental stages were infiltrated in lamina propria of small intestine with granulomatous inflammation and congestion. They were identified as Eimeria spp. according to their location and morphological characteristics. Because fecal examination and oocyst culture were not available, the species of the Eimeria could not be confirmed. There were no detection of pathogenic bacteria such as clostridia and virus in intestinal contents. CWD was shown to be negative in immunohistochemistry test. In conclusion, it was the first Eimeria case detected in small intestine of Korean domestic elk as far as we know although Eimeria spp. were not the main cause of death.

Objective--To evaluate the immunologic response of a killed tachyzoite vaccine against Neospora caninum and its effectiveness in preventing fetal loss associated with experimentally induced neosporosis in sheep. Animals--30 Dorset ewes. Procedure--Ewes were randomly allocated to receive vaccination on days 1 and 60 of the study with a killed N caninum tachyzoite preparation in a commercially available adjuvant or a saline-adjuvant mixture. A ram was placed on pasture with the ewes from days 15 to 60. Blood was collected from ewes before primary and booster vaccinations and prior to experimental challenge with N caninum tachyzoite performed on day 90; sera were assessed via Neospora agglutination (NA) and immunofluorescence antibody (IFA) assays. Blood was collected from lambs before they suckled, and sera were tested for antibodies against N caninum. Results--Of the 14 vaccinated ewes that became pregnant, 12 gave birth to live-born lambs; in contrast, 5 of 11 pregnant control ewes gave birth to live-born lambs. Whereas vaccination improved fetal survival in pregnant ewes challenged with N caninum tachyzoites, it did not appear to have any appreciable effect on transmission of N caninum to offspring, as indicated by results of NA and IFA assays. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance--The N caninum tachyzoite vaccine used in this study appeared to provide protection against fetal loss associated with experimentally induced neosporosis in a high proportion of pregnant ewes.

Proteins in sporulated and unsporulated oocysts of Eimeria maxima were characterized, using monoclonal antibodies (MAB), ELISA, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), and protein (western) immunoblotting techniques. Three MAB (EM1, EM2, and EM4) were produced against proteins of sporulated oocysts. The ELISA results indicated that EM1 was reactive with sporulated oocyst proteins, EM2 was reactive with sporulated and unsporulated oocyst proteins, and EM4 was reactive with unsporulated oocysts and proteins. Separation of proteins in E maxima sporulated and unsporulated oocysts by SDS-PAGE indicated that sporulated oocysts had proteins of approximately 200 kilodaltons (kD) and distinct protein bands at 21.5 and 45 kD. Using SDS-PAGE, unsporulated oocysts had less-distinct high molecular weight protein bands (> 200 kD), compared with sporulated oocysts, and a distinct protein band at 31 kD. Use of all 3 MAB yielded negative results in western blot analysis of fractions obtained by SDS-PAGE.