Abstract
The present study was carried out to survey the prevalence, intensity and pathological lesions of coccidia in 350 goats in western Iran from March 2012 to February 2013. The overall prevalence of coccidial infection was 83.43 % (292/350), with prevalence of 84 % (168/200) for adult goats and 82.66 % (124/150) for kids. Nine species of Eimeria were identified, namely, Eimeria arloingi, Eimeria parva, Eimeria ninakohlyakimovae, Eimeria pallida, Eimeria christenseni, Eimeria caprina, Eimeria hirci, Eimeria faurei, and Eimeria granulosa. The most common Eimeria species was E. arloingi (85.96 %), and E. granulosa was observed in the smallest proportion (3.08 %) of samples. Concurrent infection with two to five species was present in 78.45 % of positive samples. On gross examination, minimal changes were observed as thickening of the intestinal mucosa associated with a few scattered small whitish foci in the jejunum and ileum and advanced lesions as a pseudoadenomatous pattern in the mucosa and a cerebriform pattern on the serosal surface of the jejunum and ileum. The main histopathological lesion was proliferative enteritis associated with the presence of the developmental stages of parasite in the epithelial cells of the villi and crypts of the jejunum, ileum, and cecum. The results of the present investigation revealed that prevalence of coccidial infection is significantly high in western Iran and also have implications for the control of coccidial infections in the goat industry.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abo-Shehada MN, Abo-Farieha HA (2003) Prevalence of Eimeria species among goats in northern Jordan. Small Rumin Res 49:109–113
Al-Amery MAY, Hasso SA (2002) Laboratory diagnosis of novel species of Theileria hirci, Eimeria caprovina and Eimeria pallid in goats in Iraq. Small Rumin Res 44:163–166
Alyousif MS, Kasim AA, al-Shawa YR (1992) Coccidia of the domestic goat (Capra hircus) in Saudi Arabia. Int J Parasitol 22(6):807–11
Balicka-Ramisz A (1999) Studies on coccidiosis in goats in Poland. Vet Parasitol 81:347–349
Borgsteede FHM, Dercksen D (1996) Coccidial and helminth infections in goats kept indoors in the Netherlands. Vet Parasitol 61:321–326
Chhabra RC, Pandey VS (1991) Coccidia of goats in Zimbabwe. Vet Parasitol 39:199–205
Cox FEG (1998) Control of coccidiosis: lessons from other sporozoa. Int J Parasitol 28:165–179
Faizal ACM, Rajapakse RPVJ (2001) Prevalence of coccidia and gastrointestinal nematode infections in crossbred goats in the dry areas of Sri Lanka. Small Rumin Res 40:233–238
Githigia SM, Munyua WK, Kanyari PW (1992) Prevalence of Eimeria species in goats from parts of Central Kenya. Bull Anim Health Prod Afr 40:283–285
Gul A (2007) The prevalence of Eimeria species in goats in Igdir. Turk J Vet Anim Sci 31:411–414
Harper CK, Penzhorn BL (1999) Occurrence and diversity of coccidian in indigenous, Saanen and crossbred goats in South Africa. Vet Parasitol 82:1–9
Hashemnia M, Khodakaram-Tafti A, Razavi SM, Nazifi S (2012) Experimental caprine coccidiosis caused by Eimeria arloingi: morphopathologic and electron microscopic studies. Vet Res Commun 1:47–55
IVO (2010) Animal population. Iran Veterinary Organization Press. pp: 1
Jalila A, Dorny P, Sani R, Salim NB, Vercruysse J (1998) Coccidiosis infections of goats in Selangor, peninsular Malaysia. Vet Parasit 74:165–172
Jubb KVF, Kennedy PC, Palmer N (2007) Pathology of domestic animals, Vol. 2, 5th edn. Academic Press Inc, pp 264–267
Kanyari PW (1993) The relationship between coccidial and helminth infections in sheep and goats in Kenya. Vet Parasitol 51:137–141
Khodakaram-Tafti A, Mansourian M (2008) Pathologic lesions of naturally occurring coccidiosis in sheep and goats. Comp Clin Pathol 17:87–91
Koudela B, Bokova A (1998) Coccidiosis in goats in the Czech Republic. Vet Parasitol 76:261–267
Kusiluka LJM, Kambarage DM, Matthewman RW, Harrison LJS, Daborn CJ (1996) Coccidiosis in small ruminants in Tanzania. Small Rumin Res 21:127–131
Maingi N, Munyua WK (1994) The prevalence and intensity of infection with Eimeria species in sheep in Nyandarua district of Kenya. Vet Res Commun 18:19–25
Norton CC (1986) Coccidia of the domestic goat Capra hircus, with notes on E. ovinoidalis and E. bakuensis (Syn. E. ovina) from the sheep Ovis aries. Parasitolog 92:279–289
O’Callaghan MG (1988) Coccidia of domestic and feral goats in South Australia. Vet Parasitol 30:267–272
Penzhorn BL, Rognlie MC, Hall LL, Knapp SE (1994) Enteric coccidia of Cashmere goats in southwestern Montana, USA. Vet Parasitol 55(1–2):137–42
Radostits OM, Blood DC, Gay CC (1994) Veterinary medicine, 6th edn. Bailliere Tindall, London, pp 879–886
Razavi SM, Hassanvand A (2007) A survey on prevalence of different Eimeria species in goats in Shiraz suburbs. J Fac Vet Med 61:373–376
Soulsby EJL (1982) Helminths, arthropods and protozoa of domesticated animals 7th ed. Bailliere Tindall and Company, London, pp 599–606
Yakhchali M, Golami E (2008) Eimeria infection (Coccidia: Eimeriidae) in sheep of different age groups in Sanandaj city, Iran. Vet Arh 78:57–64
Acknowledgment
We thank the authorities of the Veterinary School, Razi University for their cooperation. We are grateful to Mr. Pakdel and Ms Fallahi from the Departments of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran, for their technical assistance.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hashemnia, M., Rezaei, F. & Chalechale, A. Prevalence, intensity, and pathological lesions of Eimeria infection in goats in western Iran. Comp Clin Pathol 24, 805–810 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-014-1986-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-014-1986-7