Coccidiosis is an intestinal disease that affects several

different animal species including domestic animals and humans. Eimeria and Isosporaare the two genera that are often referred to as "coccidia. Coccidia is host specific & no cross immunitybetween species. Are unicellular parasites and pandemic in occurance..

ETIOLOGY
Kingdom

: Protista Subkingdom : Protozoa Phylum : Apicomplexa Class : Sporozoa Subclass : Coccidia Order : Eucoccidiida Suborder : Eimerina Family : Eimeriidae Genera : Eimeria

FACTS
HISTORY
Eimeria species was one of the first protists ever visualized when Antoni van Leeuwenhoek saw what surely were oocysts of Eimeria steidai in the bile of a rabbit in 1674. MORPHOLOGY Coccidia contains structures like oocyst-sporulated and nonsporulated,trophozoites and merozoites. Schizonts present are of two types-giant schizonts & epithelial schizonts..

STAGES OF EIMERIA

EPIDEMIOLOGY
Pandemic in occurance.
Prevalence of infection & incidence of clinical disease is age related.In housed diary cattle prevalence is 46%-calves,43%yearlings,16%-adultcows. Seasonal variation of disease is reported in many regions.. CALVES-winter coccidiosis is prevalent in calves in Canada due to prolonged cold period, as cold weather act as stressor to precipitate clinical disease..

 Postweaning coccidiosis occurs due to

immunosupressive effect of weaning& dietary diseases in Australia. Overcrowding, dirty & wet conditions cause disease in diary calves, due to faecal contamination of feed. LAMBS-common disease in household flocks due to feedlotsituation,overcrowding & other stressors present.

 GOATS-under intensive management conditions

prevalence is high as 100%. Major source of pasture contamination is kids & weaned kids have high oocyst counts. PIGS-morbidity rates are variable & casefatality rate is 20% in porcine coccidiosis.Have repeated epidemics of neonatal diarrhoea. Prevalence more when piglets raised on solid cement floors..

MORBIDITY &CASEFATALITY
Most species infection rate is high,rate of clinical

disease is 5-10%;but epidemics affects 80%. Casefatality rate in calves is high with winter coccidiosis accompanied by nervous signs. Subclinical infection is common in lambs on pasture. Case fatality rate in lambs infected with Eimeria ninakohlyakinovae of 50%. Pigs infected with Isospora suis have reduced body wt at 21day age & affects sow productivity index..

TRANSMITTED BY
Ingestion of contaminated feed & water.
Faeces of clinically affected or carrier animals. Licking

of haircoat contaminated with infected faeces. Ingestion of sporulated oocysts results in infection. Overcrowding of pastured animals on irrigated pastures .

 Possible sources of infective oocysts for lambs before 4

weeks of age: a) Oocysts surviving in old faecal contamination of lambing area. b) Fresh oocysts constantly shed by ewes. c) Fresh oocyst shed by other lambs..

RISK FACTORS
ANIMAL RISK FACTORS Eimeria species specific age resistance:acute coccidiosis common in young animals or at any age due to intercurrent disease or inclement weather. Nutritinal status: risk factor for clinical coccidiosis ;early weaned lambs,planes of nutrition

ENVIRONMENT & MANAGEMENT RISK FACTORS Oral exposure of large numbers of sporulated oocysts to nonimmune animals. Grazing calves for the first time on permanent pastures leads to clinical coccidiosis. Intensity of infection is directly related to number of oocyst in environment & ingested by animals.

Production system influences development of

subclinical & clinical coccidiosis. PATHOGEN RISK FACTORS Single species of coccidia may be major pathogen;others predisposes to disease. In sheep & goats prevalence of multiple species as high as 95% & 85%. Moist, temperate or cool conditions favor sporulation.

IMMUNE MECHANISMS
Immunity against intestinal coccidia consists of both

cellular & humoral components. Cellular immunity is more important in resistance against reinfection. In lambs immunity induced by the first infection provides resistance to reinfections. Immunity to range of species of coccidia is boosted by frequent reinfections.

 Young lambs are relatively resistant to infection with a

mixture of pathogenic species of coccidia. In field conditions, coccidiosis in cattle is immunosupressive & increase the susceptibility to other infections.

PATHOGENESIS
Ingestion of sporulated oocyst
Schizogony in villi,bileducts.. Binaryfission of trophozoites Merozoites invades host cell

Microgametocyte & Megagametocyte

Oocyst formation Excret ion of oocyst in faeces In natural external environment,oocysts remain viable and infective as 49 days up to 86 weeks, dependent upon the species

CATT LE
ATT

LIFE CYCLE

SHEEP & GOAT

CLINICAL SIGNS
CATTLE-E.bovis & E.zuernii Mainly 3 weeks -6months of age. Most common sign is a watery diarrhoea,accompanied by straining, mucous and blood. Depression, loss of appetite, weight loss, tenesmus, rarely with diarrhoea in milk-fed calves, dehydration. Death is rare. Sub-clinical infection is very common, up to 95% . Nervous signs seen with hyperesthesia,nystagmus & mortality rates80-90% in calves.

Species

location

oocyst

structure

sporocyst

sporulation prepatentper iod

Eimeria alabamesis

Small intestine,cae cum

Small and large intestine

Ovoid,pyri Micropyle Elongated form & micropylar cap

Spherical Micropyle absent Elongated

8-10 days

6-11days

E. zuernii

3-4days

15-17days

E.auburnensis

Lower 3rd of small intestine Small intestine & caecum

Small intestine

Ovoid

Micropyla rcap absent Micropyle

Elongated

3-4days

16-24days

E. bovis

Ovoid

Elongated

2-4days

15-21days

E.ellipsoidalis E.bareillyi

Ellipsoid

Micropyle Micropyle

Elongated Banana

3-4days 3-4 days

8-13days 12-13dayss

Upperpart of Pyriform jejunum

GOATS
Eimeria Intestine GOAT arloingi E.christen Small seni intestine Ellipsoidal Micropyla Ovoid rcap Ovoid Micropyla Ovoid rcap 1-4days 2-6days 14-17days 14-23days

E.ninakoh Small Ovoid Micropyle Ovoid ylakinovae intestine & caecum E.caprina Species most commonly reported from kerela
E.apshero Small nica intestine Ovoid Micropyle Pyriform

1-4days

1417dayss

 E.christenseni.E.ninakohlyakinovae E.arloingi pathogenic

Sudden onset of severe diarrhea with foul smelling, fluid faeces often containing mucus and blood. The perineum and tail are usually stained with blood-stained, possible rectal prolapse. Inappetance ,anemia with pale nucosa , dyspnoea In kids raised and fed in crowded conditions, the symptoms over a 1-3 week period include inferior growth rates, inappetence, recumbency, emaciation and death. There is usually a lag of 14-18 days between a massive ingestion and the presence of oocytes in the faeces.

SHEEP
Eimeria Small ahsataSHEEP intestine E.ovina E.parva E.gilruthi Small intestine Small intestine Ellipsoidal Ellipsoidal Spherical Micropyl Elongate 36-72hrs 18ar cap d 20days Micropyl Elongate 2-4days arcap d Ellipsoid 2-3days al 1920days 1617days

Connective tissue mucosa of abomasum.Schizonts globoidal. Ellipsoidal Ovoid Micropyl Ovoid ar cap Micropyl Ovoid e 1-3days 1-4dayss

E.crandallis Small intestine E.faurei Small intestine

 E.ovinoidalis,E.ovina,E.parva & E.ahsata

Lambs at 3-8 weeks most frequently affected, as

maternal immunity declines. Inferior growth rates,diarrhoea with or without blood,recumbency,emaciation etc. Death within 1-3 weeks noted

PIGS
Eimeria PIG debliecki E.scabra E.neodebliecki E.polita E.perminuta Isospora suis Small intestine Small intestine Small intestine Small intestine Small intestine Small intestine Ovoid Micropyle ovoid absent 10days 9-12days 7days 9days 10days 7-8days Ellipsoida Micropyle Ovoid l Ellipsoida Steidae l body Ellipsoida Stiedae l body Spherical Steidae body Spherical Elongate 13days d Smooth 8-9days

Elongate 7-9days d Ellipsoida 4-5dayss l

 E.debliecki & E. scabra pathogenic.

Scour in piglets from 10-20 days old. Anorexia & depression,faeces will be yellow, watery &

foamy Isospora suis produces diarrhoea, villous atrophy & necrosis of intestinal epithelium. It has 3 asexual,one sexual & intraintestinal multiplication cycles..

HORSES & CAMEL

Eimeria Small Ovoid HORSES AND CAMEL leuckarti intestine Micropyla rcap absent Eimeria Small Truncat Steidae cameli intestine e body absent E.dromedarii Small Ovoid Steidae intestine body absent E.rajasthani Small Ovoid Steidae intestine body Elongated 15-41days

Elongated

Spherical

15-17days

Ovoid

7dayss

 In horses only one species pathogenic- E.leuckarti .

Common in weaned foals. Diarrhoea of prolong duration & acute massive

intestinal haemorrhage; which results in rapid death.

CLINICAL PATHOLOGY
Stages of coccidia in mucosal smearss

NECROPSY FINDINGS
Cattle- congestion, haemorrhage & thickening of

mucosa of caecum, colon,rectum & ileum, ridges in mucosa Small white cyst bodies formed by schizonts visible on tips of villi of treminal ileum. Ulceration or sloughing of mucosa. Bloodstained faeces present in lumen of large intestine. Histologically denudation of epithelium & merozoites observed in some cells.

 In piglets small intestine is usually flaccid with

fibrinonecrotic enteritis. In sheeps severe diffuse crypt hyperplasia in small & large intestines. In infections with E. gilruthi numerous nodules in abomasum.

DIAGNOSIS..
Faecal smear examination-segments of jejunum, ileum

and colon. Histologically formalin fixed duodenum,jejunum,ileum, caecum & colon. Merozoites in intestinal tissues. Serological methods- PCR detection ,autofluorescence microscopy(10 oocysts/gm).

DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS
CALVES Clostridium perfringens type

c,colibacillosis,rotavirus & coronaviru diarrhoea. LAMBS-enterotoxemia,salmonellosis & helminthiosis. PIGLETS-enterotoxemia,colibacillosis & transmissible gastroenteritis . FOALS-salmonellosis,Clostridium perfringens type b enterotoxemia, foal heart diaarhoea & rotavirus diarrhoea..

TREATMENT
Isolation of clinically affected animals.
Supportive oral & parenteral fluid therapy especially those affected with nervous coccidiosis. Sulfonamide therapy parentrally is effective in acute clinical coccidiosis in calves. Amprolium beneficial effects in terms of body weight gain . In piglets symmetrical triazintriones effective against sexual & asexual stages of Isospora suis

Chemotherapeutic agent Treatment

Prevention

Sulfadimidine

Calves & lambs:140mg/kg BW orally daily for 3 days individually.

Calves in feed-35mg/kg Bwfor 15 days Lambs daily dose 25mg/kg BW for one week.

Amprolium

Monensin

Calves individual dose Calves in feed @ 5mg/kg BW @ 10mg/kg BW daily for for 21 days. 5 days. Lambs in feed 50mg/kg BW for 21 days Lambs -2mg/kg BW Calves -33g/tonne for 31 days daily for 20 days Lambs -25-100mg/kg feed from weaning until marketing.

PREVENTION & CONTROL

MANAGEMENT OF ENVIRONMENT overcrowding of animals should be avoided. Lambing & calving areas should be well drained. Adequate hygiene measures to be adopted. Feed & water troughs should be placed at a height. Frequent rotation of pastures is advised. COCCIDISTATS Have a depressant effect on early first stage schizonts. Allow development of effective immunity.

 Ionophore smonensin coccidiostat & growth

promotant in cattle , sheep & goats.Reduce the oocyst output of ewes & lambs when fed before & after lambing. Lasalocid @ a rate of 40mg/kg to dairy calves at 3 days of age to 12 weeks of age reduce oocyst in faeces. Decoquinate in feed @ rate of 0.5 -1mg/kgBW supressed oocyst production. Toltrazuril at 20mg/kg BW as single dose almost prevent coccidiosis.

VACCINES
There is no report of vaccines successfully developed

against coccidiosis in animals. Due to the lack of understanding of immune mechanisms to primary & secondary infection & capacity of protozoa to evade the host immunity are the obstacles..