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| | **Scours, grey, foul-smelling faeces | | **Scours, grey, foul-smelling faeces |
| | **Parasitises the [[Small Intestine - Anatomy & Physiology|small intestine]], [[Caecum - Anatomy & Physiology|caecum]] and [[Colon - Anatomy & Physiology|colon]] | | **Parasitises the [[Small Intestine - Anatomy & Physiology|small intestine]], [[Caecum - Anatomy & Physiology|caecum]] and [[Colon - Anatomy & Physiology|colon]] |
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| | + | *2 week prepatent period |
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| | + | *Disease frequently seen in lambs under 6 months old |
| | + | **More often in twins and triplets when single lambs |
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| | + | *Oocyts from ewes (immune carriers) accumulate in poorly managed litter or around feed and water troughs |
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| | + | *Lambs born early in the year amplify the parasite problem increasing the parasite risk to lambs born later in the year |
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| | + | *Affected lambs may die before oocysts are found in the faeces |
| | + | **Post-mortem diagnosis difficult |
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| | *Different species of ''Eimeria'' occurs in sheep and goats | | *Different species of ''Eimeria'' occurs in sheep and goats |
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| | + | *Infection may be coincident with ''Neospora'' or ''Cryptosporidium'' infections |
| | + | **Mixed infections complicate the diagnosis as oocyst differentiation is difficult |
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| | + | *Other non-pathogenic species can cause papillomatous mucosal growths |
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| | + | '''Control''' |
| | + | *Improve husbandry |
| | + | **Avoid overcrowding |
| | + | **Decrease stress |
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| | + | *Improve hygiene by dagging ewes |
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| | + | *Avoid mixing lambs of different ages |
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| | + | *Preventative measures include creep feeding lambs with decoquinate or oral dosing with diclazuril when lambs are 4-6 weeks |
| | + | **A second dose can be given after 3 weeks |
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| | ==Coccidia of Goats== | | ==Coccidia of Goats== |