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| ==Coccidia of Cattle== | | ==Coccidia of Cattle== |
| + | *Many species affect cattle |
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| + | *Cattle under a year old are usually infected sporadically |
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| + | *2-3 week prepatent period |
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| + | *''Eimeria bovis'' |
| + | **Endogenous stages in central lacteal of villi and epithelial cells of caecum and colon |
| + | **Causes [[Intestine Diarrhoea - Pathology|diarrhoea]] and enteritis |
| + | **Oocysts are 28x20m |
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| + | *''Eimeria zuernii'' |
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| + | *Mainly occurs in calves in poor conditions and brought-in calves |
| + | **Also occurs in suckler calves turned out in spring |
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| + | *''Eimeria alabamensis'' associated with [[Intestine Diarrhoea - Pathology|diarrhoea]] in calves after spring turnout |
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| + | *[[Materno-fetal immunity - WikiBlood#Passive transfer via colostrum|Passive immunity]] is sufficient during the neonatal period |
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| + | *Can be concurrent with cryptosporidium, viral and bacterial agents |
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| + | '''Diagnosis''' |
| + | *History, clinical signs, [[Intestine Diarrhoea - Pathology|diarrhoea]] (often with blood) and a decrease in weight gain |
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| + | *Post-mortem |
| + | **Diffuse inflammation and thickening of caecal mucosa (and sometimes ileal and colonic mucosa) |
| + | **Masses of gamonts and oocysts in scrapings |
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| + | *High faecal oocyst count |
| + | **However, healthy animals can pass millions of oocysts from mixed species infections which have no pathogenic significance |
| + | **Animals may die before oocysts are shed |
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| + | '''Control''' |
| + | *Improve husbandry |
| + | **Improve sanitation |
| + | **Increase bedding |
| + | **Raise faecal and water troughs to avoid faecal contamination |
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| + | *Preventative in-feed medication |
| + | **E.g. Decoquinate |
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| + | *Injectible antiprotozoals may limit oocyst production but animals should still be moved to a clean environment |
| + | **E.g. Sulphamethoxypyridazine |
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| ==Coccidia of Sheep== | | ==Coccidia of Sheep== |