Abstract
Among the 11 species of Eimeria in rabbits, some of which are known to be pathogenic and cause enteritis, E. stiedae induces severe liver lesions resulting in elevated mortality. Unlike in other countries, the incidence and prevalence of the parasites in rabbits have not been reported in Japan. In the present study, we histopathologically analyzed hepatic coccidiosis in a rabbit and attempted several primers to genetically identify the parasites and investigated the prevalence of Eimeria species at the same farm. In the liver of the affected rabbit, we observed fibrosis and edema around multiple bile ducts and epithelial cell hyperplasia of the bile ducts. Large numbers of developing parasites of Eimeria spp., mainly oocysts, were present in the bile ducts. PCR and sequencing analyses with the published primers for Cyclospora and Eimeria spp. were used to successfully identify the parasites in the liver as E. stiedae. The oocysts of Eimeria spp. were detected in 13 out of 20 fecal samples collected from other rabbits at the farm, and five Eimeria spp. (E. perforans, E. flavescens, E. exigua, E. magna, and E. vejdovskyi) were genetically confirmed. Our results provide the first indication that Eimeria spp., including highly pathogenic species, are present in Japan and the primer set used herein can be a useful tool for the identification of rabbit Eimeria spp.
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Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge Ms. Rika Sekiguchi and Ms. Noriko Asama (Osaka Metropolitan University) for their help with fecal and molecular examinations.
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K. Katsui, S. Uni, and K. Sasai wrote and checked the manuscript. K. Katsui, S. Takami, K. Ohashi, and H. Otsuka macroscopically and histopathologically analyzed the rabbits. K. Katsui, M. Matsubayashi, and T. Shibahara parasitologically and genetically examined liver and fecal samples. M. Matsubayashi modified the paper totally. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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All experiments were carried out without handling live animals, and, therefore, ethical approval for animal experimentation was not necessary. Farm owners provided their consent for all examinations in this study, which were conducted by veterinarians belonging to the Livestock Hygiene Service Center as part of the prefectural government affairs. No animals were sacrificed for the purpose of this study. The study did not require the involvement of human participants.
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Katsui, K., Takami, S., Ohashi, K. et al. Molecular identification of Eimeria species in liver and feces of naturally infected rabbits in Japan. Parasitol Res 121, 2733–2738 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-022-07580-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-022-07580-x