Prevalence of Eimeria Species in Lambs in Antakya Province

            Eimeria species can cause the disease called coccidiosis in many types of animals, as well as humans. Pre-weaned and recently weaned lambs are of particular importance when it comes to this disease, because if they have subclinical coccidiosis it is likely that the lambs will have a reduction in weight gain and feed efficiency and be more likely to become infected with other diseases (Kaya, 2004). Subclinical coccidiosis occurs when an animal is infected but does not show obvious signs of infection. Another stage of infection, clinical coccidiosis, has even higher economic losses due to the cost of medical treatment, more severe growth impediment, and death of the animal. Mortality in sheep during an outbreak of coccidiosis can range from 10 to 40%, but is rarely over 10% (Kaya, 2004). Clinical coccidiosis only became an economically important issue when intensive animal rearing systems were introduced, and outbreaks of the disease occurred in dense animal populations and in poor weather conditions (Kaya, 2004). At the time this article was published, it was believed that only fourteen species of Eimeria were capable of infecting sheep, however as stated in the previous article reviewed (which was published in 2011) the number of species that can infect sheep is now at fifteen.

            The province of Antakya has very different conditions from the rest of Turkey, being mild and rainy during winter and spring, and very hot and humid in the summer and fall, with sheep grazing outside in pastures year round on sunny days (Kaya, 2004). The researchers wanted to determine what the prevalence and intensity of Eimeria infection was in lambs in the province because of the climatic difference of the area.

            A total of 248 samples were taken from 34 lamb flocks (aged 2 weeks to 6 months) from the locations of Antakya, Reyhanh, Serinyol, Kirikhan, Hassa, and Harbiye. Lambs were chosen randomly and the sample was taken directly from the lamb’s rectum, and stored in a lidded container (Kaya, 2004). All samples were infected with 2 to 8 of the 15 Eimeria species capable of infecting sheep. The species of Eimeria with the greatest prevalence of infection were E.crandallis with an infection rate of 64.91% and E.ovinoidallis with an infection rate of 55.24% (Kaya, 2004). One hundred percent of the lambs sampled were found to be infected with one of 10 different Eimeria speicies, while other areas in Turkey range from 29.9% infected with 9 species, to 94.8% with 9 species as well (Kaya, 2004). Except for the Van province, the infection rate in Antakya province was higher than that in other provinces of Turkey, with the number of identified Eimeria species being similar to other studies, but the actual identified species differed.

            The difference in the presence of particular Eimeria species and the prevalence of each species depends on factors such as environment, animal factors (age, species, etc.), farm management and other factors such as other illnesses or stress (Kaya, 2004). Eimerian parasites can co-exist with the host sheep without negative consequences so long as other illnesses or stress does not upset the balance between the host and the parasite. Farm management can be altered or introduced to shepherds in order to cut economic losses caused by clinical or subclinical cases of coccidiosis in the herd (Kaya, 2004).

Reference:

Kaya, G. 2004. Prevalence of Eimeria species in lambs in Antakya province. Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences. 28: 687-692.