Prevalence of Eimeria spp. in calves from dairy farms in northern Paraná state, Brazil

Abstract

Bovine coccidiosis is a disease of major importance in cattle herds across the world. The disorder mainly affects young calves, and E. bovis and E. zuernii are considered the most pathogenic species of the genus, however, E. alabamensis have been described in grazing calves. In this study, the prevalence of Eimeria spp. was evaluated in calves on dairy farms in the northern region of the state of Paraná, Brazil. Four hundred calves on 44 dairy farms were tested for the presence of coccidian oocysts. The positives were re-examined and the oocysts were morphometrically analyzed for species identification. All the farms were contaminated and 205 animals (51.25%) presented Eimeria spp. oocysts. Among these, 146 animals (71.22%) were co-infected by two or more species of coccidia. Ten species of Eimeria were identified: E. bovis (in 30.25% of the positive samples), E. alabamensis (26.75%), E. zuernii (22.00%), E. ellipsoidalis (18.50%), E. auburnensis (13.75%), E. canadensis (8.00%), E. cylindrica (7.25%), E. subspherica (5.00%), E. bukidnonensis (3.00%) and E. brasiliensis (0.75%). This study demonstrates the high prevalence of Eimeria spp. in the northern region of Paraná, Brazil, and detection for the first time in our region the pathogenic species E. alabamensis.

Prevalence and risk factors of Eimeria spp. natural infection in sheep from northern Paraná, Brazil

“…Coccidiosis is an intestinal disease caused by obligate intracellular protozoans of the genus Eimeria that infects different animal species, including birds, ruminants, and rabbits (Bruhn et al, 2011;Cardim et al, 2018;Mohamaden et al, 2018;Basiaga et al, 2020). In sheep, the infection causes high economic impact due to clinical and subclinical disease, which results in decreased productivity and low growth of infected animals (Chartier & Paraud, 2012).…”

Field Survey on the Status of Internal Parasites in Young Calves on Farms in Eastern Slovakia

“…infections in calves have demonstrated that in one study conducted in 2012 and 2013 in Brazil, 56.8 % of the total number of examined calves were positive and in a similar study carried out in 2018, from 400 samples analysed, 51.25 % of the calves were positive for Eimeria spp. also [3]. These results imply that if Eimeria spp.…”

Diversity of Eimeria (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) species and risk factors associated in natural infecting calves at the Southern Agreste Microregion in the State of Pernambuco, Brazil

“…Their presence indicates that there is a high risk of clinical eimeriosis in the herds of the region. The species E. bovis is the one most frequently found in Brazil and this species, together with E. zuernii, are the ones that are most pathogenic, once that are responsible for causing moderate to severe enteritis, which can lead to the death of animals (Enemark et al, 2013;Cardim et al, 2018;Bangoura & Bardsley, 2020). In addition, E. zuernii can cause neurological changes, which may occur either with or without associated enteric signs.…”

“…sheep, goats, cattle and buffaloes). These protozoa are specific to their hosts, for example, species that affect cattle do not infect other ruminants, except for buffaloes that can be infected by Eimeria species there are common to cattle (Cardim et al, 2018;El-Alfy et al, 2019;Macedo et al, 2019;Bangoura & Bardsley, 2020). The diagnosis of infection with the parasite is mostly made through coproparasitological methods for detection of oocysts.…”