BACKGROUND: Eimeria infection is an important part of protozoal infection in ruminants which causes economic lost in animal husbandry of Iran and worldwide. Therefore it is important to implement effective control programs on the prevalence and diversity of Eimeria species in livestocks. OBJECTIVES: This study was aimed to determine prevalence and Eimeria species diversity in dairy cattle with different age groups under industrial management. METHODS: The present study was carried out in industrial cattle husbandry of Kangavar suburban of Kermanshah province, Iran, from spring 2011 to 2012. A total of 307 fresh fecal samples were randomly collected from the rectum of examined animals. The fecal specimens were subjected for flotation technique and collect Eimeria oocysts. The intensity of infection was determined using McMater method. Eimeria species diversity and frequency was also determined by using oocyst sporulation technique in 2.5% potassium dichromate. RESULTS: The overall prevalence was 31.92% (98 out of 307). The highest prevalence was found in dairy cattle (37%) with 1-3 years old. There was no significant difference between prevalence and different age groups. The highest frequency was significantly in spring (41.66%). The intensity was variable in examined animals which ranged from 3.18×103 to 2.71×105. There was no significant difference between the prevalence and intensity in all age groups. Fecal consistency findings revealed that the highest infection was significantly in dairy cattle with normal fecal consistency in all age groups. According to Laboratory identification, a number of seven Eimeria species were detected in all infected animals. The most common specie was E. zuernii (28.25%) in 5% dairy cattle (1-3 years-old) in spring (30%) and summer (30%). There was significant association between frequency of Eimeria infection and each season during the course of the study. All infected cattle had mixed infections with two (42.85%) and three (3.15%) species of Eimeria. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicated that cattle Eimeria infection was a problem in dairy cattle of industrial farms in the region. Attention should be paid within seasonal infection in young cattle to avoid probable clinical coccidiosis, particularly in farms with poor hygienic conditions and no prophylactic treatments.

Sixteen 7-week-old Holstein male calves were inoculated with sporulated oocysts of Eimeria zuernii. Four calves (controls) were euthanatized and necropsied at 14 and 20 days after inoculation (DAI). Two calves were treated with 20 mg of dexamethasone (IM) on 13, 14, and 15 DAI and euthanatized and necropsied 17 DAI and 2 calves were given similar treatments and necropsied 20 DAI. The 8 other calves were euthanatized and necropsied 20 DAI. Two were started on the anticoccidial drug decoquinate in feed 13 DAI; 2 others were given decoquinated on the same schedule plus dexamethasone on 13, 14, and 15 DAI. Two calves were given the antibiotic narasin in feed beginning 13 DAI and 2 calves were given parasin on the same schedule plus dexamethasone on 13, 14, and 15 DAI. All calves, except 2 controls necropsied 14 DAI and 4 calves given decoquinate, discharged moderate-to-large numbers of oocysts in feces and had moderate-to-severe changes in fecal consistency. Histologic examintions revealed large numbers of endogenous stages in tissues of calves treated or not treated with dexamethasone. Few endogenous stages were observed in tissues from calves that were given decoquinate or decoquinate plus dexamethasone. Calves given narasin or narasin plus dexamethasone had moderate-to-large numbers of endogenous stages in the tissues.

Avian coccidiosis is an important parasitic disease affecting poultry and causes high economic losses in poultry industry, which acts as an important sector in the Egyptian national income. It is caused by genus Eimeria that belongs to subphylum apicomplexa. It affects domestic pigeons causing great losses, particularly in squabs. So, this study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of Eimeria species infecting domestic pigeons (Columbia livia) in Minia province. Intestines of 400 domestic pigeons collected from various poultry butcher shops as well as 103 pooled fecal samples of household pigeons were microscopically examined by the flotation technique. The recovered oocysts were morphologically identified. The overall prevalence of Eimeria species infection was 27.0% (108/400) and 72.82% (75/103) in the intestinal and pooled fecal samples respectively. Seasonally, the highest infection rate in the pooled fecal samples was in both spring and autumn (80.0%), while the lowest was in summer (56.0%). Meanwhile, the infection rate of the intestinal samples was the highest in winter (33.33%) and the lowest in autumn (20.0%). Moreover, The monthly infection rate of intestinal samples revealed that September and April had the highest rates;(55.0% and 41.62%). However, no infection rates were found in October and November, while monthly infection rate of fecal samples recorded that January and February showed 100% infection rate. Meanwhile, March and August, showed the lowest rate of infection 28.57% and 42.86% respectively. The morphological identification revealed the presence of four Eimeria species, Eimeria labbeana, E. columbarum E.columbae and E.labbeana-like, in pigeons in Minia province. Further studies are recommended to investigate the life cycle and molecular differentiation of Eimeria species infecting domestic birds.

In most countries, poultry are reared by traditional farmers d ue tothe relative minimum capital needed to start off, availability of feed and the fast period of the birds to grow. This research was conducted on turkeys which aims to study the abundance and prevalence of ectoparasites from three localities around Kedah, Malaysia. Atotal of 20 turkeys (eight males and twelve females) were examined for ectoparasites infestation and endoparasites infection.Six species of ectoparasites: five lice and a mite have been discovered. The most prevalent ectoparasite was Menopon gallinae with occurrence of 45%. Other external parasites recorded includeLipeurus caponis and Megninia cubitalis with occurrence of 40%, Menacanthus pallidulus (35%), Goniocotes gallinae (30%) and Chelopistes meleagridis (20%). There was a significant difference between the ectoparasite abundance in Jabatan Perkhidmatan Veterinar and Alor Belat Barat [ANOVA, F(2,17)=6.33, p=0.009]. These lice commonly found in the fluff of the feathers, especially at the neck,abdomen, and wings. Lipeurus caponis was found to have the highest infestation in all male and female turkeys and Menacanthus pallidulus was noted as the less common ectoparasite infesting both the male andfemale turkeys. Endoparasite infection was recorded in two species of parasite eggs of nematodes and protozoa. Oocyst of Eimeria spp. recorded the highest faecal egg count with 7300 epg compared to Capillaria spp. with only 1200 epg. Scavenging and pecking behaviour of turkeys in barn area with unsuitable farm housing environmentwere the major contributing factors to the infestation of ectoparasites as well as endoparasites infection.

Cell culture systems for the protozoan Eimeria are not yet available. The present study was conducted to develop an animal model system by inoculating animals with a live Eimeria vaccine. This study was conducted on 3-day-old chickens (n = 20) pretreated with cyclophosphamide. The chickens were divided into 2 groups: the control group (n = 10) and the inoculated group that received the live Eimeria vaccine (n = 10). During the study period, we compared the clinical signs, changes in body weight, and number of oocysts shed in the feces of the control and inoculated group. This study showed that oocyst shedding was significantly higher in the chickens inoculated with live Eimeria oocysts than in the control chickens. Moreover, body weight gain was lesser in the animals in the inoculated group than in the control animals. Fecal oocyst shedding was observed in the inoculated animals. On the basis of these findings, we suggest that live Eimeria vaccination with cyclophosphamide pretreatment may be used to obtain an effective animal model for studying protozoan infections. This animal study model may eliminate the need for a tedious continuous animal inoculation process every 6 months because the live coccidiosis vaccine contains live oocysts.

Sixteen 7-week-old Holstein male calves were inoculated with sporulated oocysts of Eimeria zuernii. Four calves (controls) were euthanatized and necropsied at 14 and 20 days after inoculation (DAI). Two calves were treated with 20 mg of dexamethasone (IM) on 13, 14, and 15 DAI and euthanatized and necropsied 17 DAI and 2 calves were given similar treatments and necropsied 20 DAI. The 8 other calves were euthanatized and necropsied 20 DAI. Two were started on the anticoccidial drug decoquinate in feed 13 DAI; 2 others were given decoquinated on the same schedule plus dexamethasone on 13, 14, and 15 DAI. Two calves were given the antibiotic narasin in feed beginning 13 DAI and 2 calves were given parasin on the same schedule plus dexamethasone on 13, 14, and 15 DAI. All calves, except 2 controls necropsied 14 DAI and 4 calves given decoquinate, discharged moderate-to-large numbers of oocysts in feces and had moderate-to-severe changes in fecal consistency. Histologic examintions revealed large numbers of endogenous stages in tissues of calves treated or not treated with dexamethasone. Few endogenous stages were observed in tissues from calves that were given decoquinate or decoquinate plus dexamethasone. Calves given narasin or narasin plus dexamethasone had moderate-to-large numbers of endogenous stages in the tissues.