190 



THE TELOSPORASIDA AND THE COCCIDIA PROPER 



Diagnosis : Coccidiosis in sheep and 

 goats can be diagnosed from a combination 

 of history, signs, gross lesions at necropsy 

 and microscopic examination of the intes- 

 tinal mucosa and feces. However, recog- 

 nition of coccidia in the lesions at necropsy 

 is necessary for positive diagnosis. The 

 mere presence of oocysts in the feces does 

 not necessarily mean that the disease is 

 due to coccidia. On the other hand, acute 

 coccidiosis may be present before any 

 oocysts appear. 



Treatment : Relatively few studies 

 have been carried out on the treatment of 

 coccidiosis in sheep. A distinction must 

 be made between preventive and curative 

 treatments. Several sulfonamides and 

 sulfur are of value in preventing coccidio- 

 sis in lambs, but no drugs are known to 

 cure the disease once signs appear. How- 

 ever, oxytetracycline and related anti- 

 biotics may be of value in controlling sec- 

 ondary infections. 



Christensen (1944) found that 0. 5 to 

 1. 5% sulfur fed in a ration of chopped al- 

 falfa and ground corn held together by 

 molasses and water prevented coccidiosis 

 in feeder lambs. He fed this amount of 

 sulfur for 72 days without ill effects, but 

 higher concentrations caused diarrhea and 

 decreased weight gains. 



Tarlatzis, Panetsis and Dragonas 

 (1955) claimed that furacin was effective 

 against coccidiosis in sheep and goats, 

 but their work was uncontrolled. 



Prevention : Good sanitation will 

 largely prevent coccidiosis in lambs. 

 Coccidiosis is not a problem in suckling 

 lambs on the western range, but appears 

 when the animals are brought together in 

 the feedlot. Feedlots should be kept dry 

 and clean. Clean water and feed should be 

 supplied, and feed troughs should be so 

 constructed that they cannot be contamin- 

 ated with feces. 



Foster, Christensen and Habermann 

 (1941) found that 2 g sulfaguanidine a day 

 prevented the acquisition of natural coc- 

 cidiosis in 5 lambs and reduced the level 

 of oocyst output in 4 subclinical infections 

 with unnamed species. Christensen and 

 Foster (1943) reported that 0.2% sulfa- 

 guanidine in the feed for 20 days beginning 

 1 day after an infective feeding with 500,000 

 sporulated oocysts from lambs with clin- 

 ical coccidiosis prevented severe coccid- 

 iosis in lambs, but that 0.45% sulfaguanidine 

 failed to affect the course of the disease 

 when it was begun the day after clinical 

 signs had appeared. Steward (1952) found 

 that sulfamethazine and sulfadiazine had 

 some value in an outbreak of coccidiosis 

 in sheep, reducing the numbers of oocysts 

 passed, but that quinacrine was valueless. 

 Whitten (1953) found in a controlled exper- 

 iment that neither 0.01 g per kg quinacrine 

 hydrochloride nor 0.01 g per kg sulfameth- 

 azine daily for 3 days had any significant 

 effect on oocyst production or weight gains 

 in naturally affected lambs. However, 

 oocyst production decreased markedly 

 markedly in both ireated lambs and controls 

 following treatment, so that if no controls 

 had been used, it would have been assumed 

 that the treatment had been of value. 



Coccidiosis is a potential hazard if 

 lambing takes place in a barn or restricted 

 area, and the bedding is the most common 

 source of infection. Shumard and Eveleth 

 (1956) recommended as a practical method 

 for raising lambs with their ewes that the 

 animals be kept in concrete pens with 

 straw bedding, that the pens be cleaned 

 twice a week, and that 1 pint of a 3. 45% 

 sulfaquinoxaline solution be added to each 

 50 gallons of drinking water. In their 

 studies, coccidian oocysts did not appear 

 in the lambs until 18 days after treatment 

 had been discontinued. 



EIMERIA DEBLIECKI 

 DOUWES, 1921 



Synonyms : Eimeria bri(»if>ti, Eimeria 

 jaliiia, Eimeria suis. 



Host: Pig. 



Location : Small intestine, and, to a 

 lesser extent, large intestine. 



Geographic Distribution : Worldwide. 



Prevalence : E. debUecki is the com- 

 monest coccidium of swine. De Graff 

 (1925) found it in 51% of 500 pigs in the 



