COCCIDIOSIS IN SHEEP AND GOATS (REVIEW)

Assiut University web-site: www.aun.edu.eg

 

COCCIDIOSIS IN SHEEP AND GOATS

                                                                 (REVIEW)

 

NADIA HAMID MOHAMMED; WASAN AMJAD ALOBAIDII

AND MANAL HAMMADI HASAN

 

Department of Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq

 

Received: 25 July 2021;     Accepted: 30 August 2021

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Eimeria spp is protozoan parasites infects the small animals develop in the intestines of animals (Chartier and Paraud, 2012).

 

Eimeria is a serious disease of small animals and in different animal species in Iraq (Al-Amery and Hasso, 2002) and in the world (Foreyt 1990). Coccidian are obligat disease that development in the cytoplasm epithelial cells caused the hyperplasia and death of that cell parasitized. (Koudela and Bokova, 1998).

 

 

Corresponding author: Wasan Amjad Alobaidii

E-mail address: wasenamjad@yahoo.com

Present address: Department of Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq

The effects degree of tissue depends on size the infective dose of oocysts, species of Eimeria stress, and factors related to the host such as genetic susceptibility, age, degree of immunity of the host and physical condition. (Zhao et al., 2012).

 

Coccidia can damage intestinal cells of the host causing anemia and electrolytes loss (Callaghan et al., 1987). Several studies have found that the prevalence of coccidiosis in the sheep and goats were 85% or more, the high prevalence at time show the serious problem that this parasite poses and calls the need to its management proper (Woji et al.,1994) (Yun et al.,  2000).

 

There are fifteen species of coccidian, Identified in sheep but three of them are serious pathogens and include E.bakuensis E.ovinoidalis and E.ahsata and while there 16 type of coccidia in goats and most type pathogenic such as E.arloingi E.christenseni, E.caprina and E.ninakohlyakimovae (Catchpole et al., 1993) (Soulsby, 1982) (Constable et al., 2012) (khodakaram and hashemia, 2017).

 

History

Eimeria is a wide spread intestinal parasite in the world. Antony van leevween hook, he noticed the first oocysts of E. stiedai in the yellow channels of rabbit in 1674 (Clark and colwell., 1974).

 

The name Coccidia recorded in the first time in 1879 by lenckart. Researchers Moussu and Marotel in 1902 described the first species of Eimeria in the sheep it is E. faurei (Constable et al., 2012). In 1903, Minchin was able to classify coccidia by the number of sporocyst in the oocyst (Chhabra and Pandey., 1991).

 

The use of the electron microscopy by Grasse in 1953 has helped to add new information about the classification and life cycle of parasites (Wang et al., 2010).

 

Classification of Parasite

Coccidiosis is caused by small organisms belonging to the Eimeria species and has been classified as parasite based on (Taylor et al., 2007) reported as follows:

 

Kingdom: Protista

Phylum: Apicomplexa

Class: Sporozoa

Order: Eucoccidiorida

Suborder:Eimeriorina

Family: Eimeriidae

Genus: Eimeria

 

Life cycle of Eimeria spp.

Several studies have indicated that the Eimeria is an obligatory parasite that needs one host to complete its life cycle (Chhabra and Pandey, 1991). The parasite’s life cycle begins when the animal eats food or water contaminated with the sporulated oocysts and when this reaches the small intestine (Chartier and Paraud, 2012). The oocyst membrane ruptures the sporozoites escape to invade the epithelial cells of intestines and transfers into trophozoite and then to shizont (Clark and Colwell., 1974).

 

The schizonts consist of merozoites, which invade other epithelium of intestine result in secondary schizont and produce second merozoites by a sexual reproduction and the second generation merozoites intervention of epithelial cell of intestine to produce sexual reproduction to produce macro and microgamonts (gamogony) (Kusiluka and Kambarage, 1996).

 

The microgamete fertilize the macrogamete to produce the zygote (Lima et al., 1981). The zygote is surrounded by a wall to produce an oocyst. The oocyst is excreted with faeces of the host (Kusiluka et al., 1996).

 

The stages of parasite development in various intestinal regions, the prepatent period is 2-3 weeks when the suitable conditions are available under moisture, temperature (23-34°C) (Lee et al., 2001).

 

Epidemiology of parasite

Several factors play an important role in the spread of the coccidiosis which cause economic losses in animals herds (Platzer et al., 2005) these include:

 

1-   Animal factors:

Age is considered a major factor in severity of the infection. (Razavi and Hassanvand, 2007), severity and prevalence of the disease is high in the young ages and gradually decreases with the age of the animal (Reeg et al., 2005). (Arslan et al., 1999) reported that the prevalence of coccidia in Mosul city in small age sheep (71.4%) while the prevalence of Eimeria in adult ages reaching (40%) (Ali et al., 2005).

 

While the sex results showe no relationship between the sex of the sheep and the number of Eimeria oocyst with faeces (Ruiz et al., 2006).

 

(shmaon, 2005) showed that there are no difference in the incidence of female and male infestation (84% and 90% respectively).

 

Also (Ali et al., 2005) in the Mosul city recorded 61.29%, 58.33% in male and female respectively. The state of pregnancy in the animal is one of the important in the incidence of disease epidemiology leads to the weakness of immunity in pregnant ewes thus increases the number of oocysts in the stool (Soe and pomroy 1992) (Faizal and Rajapakse, 2001).

 

2- Factors affecting epidemiology are the dose size of parasite oocysts taken by the animal and the parasite species (Altaf and Hidayatu, 2014).

 

3- Factors related to the environment such as temperature, oxygen tension, humidity (Hashemia et al., 2014) (Ruiz et al., 2012).

 

(27-32ºc) it is considered the ideal degree of sporulation of parasite (Silva et al., 2014).

 

4- Factors related to parasite transmission (Morrison et al., 2004).

 

Prevalence of Coccidiosis

Prevalence of coccidian has been reported in all world wide  coccidia infected herds has been estimated at 50% in world throughout Europe, Asia, the middle South and East America (Koudela and Bokova,1998).

 

The prevalence rate of coccidiosis is higher during the rainy season because it is positively influenced by the warm and humid weather in the literature review various percentages of Eimeria spp have been recorded of sheep and goats in Iraq, There are 63.3% and 55.07 in Mosul province (Alani et al., 1989) (sullaman 2005). 72% in Sulaimaniya province (Kareem and Yuce l2015). 3.25 in Erbil province (Ahmed et al., 2015), 69.6% in Baghdad (Kalef et al., 2013), 50% and 57.5% in Wasit (Al-Rubaie and qaAl-Saadon 2018), 86.09% in Diyala (Minnat, 2014), 67.5% in Al-Muthana (Mohammed 2013).

 

Recent studies in some countries such as Jordan (Abo-shehada and Abo-fareha2003), Turkey (Arslan et al., 1999), China (Wang et al., 2010), Iran (Kheirandish et al., 2014), Brazil (Amarante and Barbosa, 1992) have indicated that coccidiosis in sheep and goats are an important clinical and subclinical disease (Kumar et al., 2016).

 

Pathogenesis:

Eimeria spp parasites that obligate development in epithelial cells for the cytoplasm and produce cell death that infection with parasite and hyperplasia (Hatamnahavandi et al., 2016).

 

The severity infection has arelation with number of oocyst take by the animal and on the location of the parasite in the epithelial lining of the intestines Eimeria species Immune status and age of host and the stages of development in the various intestinal regions. (Mohamaden et al., 2018).

 

coccidia causes changes in the intestinal mucosa of infected animals causing localized hemorrhage and atrophy which results in decreased intestinal absorption (Kheirandish et al., 2014).

 

The developmemt of non-sexual stages lead to the destruction of epithetlial cells, destroy of capillaries of the mucosa in intestinal produce anaemia and hypoproteinaemia (Mohamaden et al., 2018).

 

The damage of mucosa in intestine causes diarrhea and dehydration. (Silva and lima, 1998).

 

Clinical signs

The incidence of Eimeria parasites is either acute or chronic, the case of acute the signs are diarrhea, which is a common symptom which may last for three days as well as weakness, loss of appetite abdominal pain, and weight loss, abdominal pain, diarrhea, tenesmus (Levine et al., 1985) (Sharma et al., 2017).

 

While in chronic infection the signs are general weakness weight loss and poor growth of the lambs (Deger et al., 2003).

 

The appearance of clinical signs depends on the type of coccidia and its location in the intestine, Genetic susceptibility, stress factors (Khodakaram and hashemnia, 2017) (Silva and lima, 1998).

 

Diagnosis

There are many laboratory tests that can be performed to confirm the diagnosis of coccidosis (taylor 2007):

 

1-      Microscopy of faeces:

Identify of coccidia spp depends on size and shape of oocysts and morphology of sporocyst (Watson and Gill., 1991)

2-      The development stages of Eimerai spp. demonstrated by Giemsa-stained and haematoxylin eosin stain (Mohammed 2012).

3-      Post mortem examination (Altaf and Hidayatu, 2014)

4-      Molecular diagnosis
Polymerase Chain Reaction is mutual molecular diagnostic method used to detection of Eimerai spp (Al-Rubaie and Al-Saadoon, 2018)

 

Treatment and prevention of coccidiosis

Researchers have found many preventive and curative measures to reduce the spread of coccidiosis in animals herds, the successful and economical prevention depends on avoiding animal overcrowding. (Balick and Ramisz, 1999).

 

The lambing and kidding grounds must as clean and dry in case of outbreaks in the herds, the infected animals should be isolated and given the anticoccidial drugs (Cox 1998).

 

For treatment, there are many veterinary preparations used to treat the disease including decoquinate 0.5 mg/kg B.W, sulfonamides (Dominguez et al., 2001).

 

Diclozuril adose 1 mg/kg a mixed with sulfonamide and chlorlet racycline have give protection in lambs (Dai et al., 2006).

 

Also used the Amprolium in feed to treat the disease 100 mg/kg BW for 21 days (Constable et al., 2012).

 

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