COCCIDIOSIS

Coccidia parasites

VMED 109

Presented by: Claina Lee S Toboso

DVM 5
 BACKGROUND AND HISTORY

OCCURRENCE:
• Worldwide.
AGE AFFECTED:
• Piglets pre-weaning, weaners (growers / finishers, sows, boars).
CAUSES:
• One-celled parasites of the families Cystoisospora (Isospora), Cryptosporidium and
Eimeria; poor hygiene.
EFFECTS:
• Paste-like or watery diarrhoea, stunting, death in piglets.
1 CAUSES

❑ Causative Agent in piglets is usually

2 MODE OF TRANSMISSION Isospora suis.
❑ Older pigs and weaned pigs are
3 CLINICAL SIGNS infected by various Eimeria spp
❑ Most Eimeria spp have low
4 LESION pathogenicity
❑ Causing approx 5% of infections or
5 DIAGNOSIS do not occur in this age group.

6 TRETMENT AND PREVENTION

1 CAUSES

2 MODE OF TRANSMISSION

3 CLINICAL SIGNS

4 LESION

5 DIAGNOSIS

6 TRETMENT AND PREVENTION

1 CAUSES • Coccidia are initially introduced into farrowing facilities by
carrier sows.
• Once infected, piglets magnify the numbers of oocysts and
heavily contaminate the environment.
2 EPIDEMIOLOGY
• As a result of this buildup of oocysts, piglets are able to
ingest high numbers of oocysts, a requisite for producing
clinical disease. Inadequate sanitary practices between
3 CLINICAL SIGNS farrowing groups undoubtedly facilitate this buildup.
• In a warm, moist environment, oocysts in feces-
contaminated farrowing rooms and crates soon become
4 LESION infective.
• The sporozoites within oocysts mature and are released to
penetrate enterocytes. Many enterocytes are destroyed by
the developing coccidia. Released oocysts are passed in the
5 DIAGNOSIS feces.

6 TRETMENT AND PREVENTION

1 CAUSES
• Infection most commonly occurs from 5–15 days of age
• Coccidiosis causes diarrhoea in piglets due to damage
2 EPIDEMIOLOGY caused to the wall of the small intestine. This is followed by
secondary bacterial infections.
• Dehydration is common.

3 CLINICAL SIGNS • The faeces vary in consistency and colour from yellow to
grey green, or bloody according to the severity of the
condition.
• Secondary infection by bacteria and viruses can also result
4 LESION in high mortality, although mortality due to coccidiosis on
its own is relatively low.
• Occasionally disease is seen in young boars and gilts that
5 DIAGNOSIS are housed in permanently populated pens and floor fed.

6 TRETMENT AND PREVENTION

1 CAUSES
PIGLETS

2 EPIDEMIOLOGY • the small intestines are often flaccid, with

contents varying from watery to a creamy liquid.
• Lesions consist of a thickening of the wall, with a
necrotic lining confined to the jejunal and ileal
3 CLINICAL SIGNS wall
• the body is thin and dehydrated.
• Histologic examination shows large numbers of
4 LESION merozoites and male and female gametocytes in
the intestinal wall.
• There is villous atrophy, blunting of villi, focal
5 DIAGNOSIS ulceration, increased mitotic activity in the crypt
epithelium, and in severe cases, fibrinonecrotic
enteritis with coccidial development stages in the
6 TRETMENT AND PREVENTION epithelium.
 PIGLETS
1 CAUSES

2 EPIDEMIOLOGY

3 CLINICAL SIGNS

4 LESION

5 DIAGNOSIS

6 TRETMENT AND PREVENTION

1 CAUSES
OLDER PIGS

2 EPIDEMIOLOGY • There are local inflammatory lesions with

lining slough in the jejunum and ileum.

3 CLINICAL SIGNS
• Histologically, villous atrophy is moderate
and, at the villi tips, there is fibrinonecrotic
4 LESION material.

5 DIAGNOSIS

6 TRETMENT AND PREVENTION

1 CAUSES • Diagnosis can be made most reliably by
identifying the coccidia in histologic sections.
• The presence of paired type-1 merozoites are
2 EPIDEMIOLOGY considered diagnostic for I. suis.
• Several areas of infected mucosa should be
examined in order to maximize sensitivity of the
3 CLINICAL SIGNS
histological examination as distribution of
microscopic lesions and merozoites is
unpredictable.
4 LESION
• Diagnosis by fecal examinations may be possible
but is thought to be less sensitive than
5 DIAGNOSIS examination of affected small intestinal tissue

6 TRETMENT AND PREVENTION

1 CAUSES
Fecal Examination
• It is best attempted on piglets that have been sick
2 EPIDEMIOLOGY two to three days so that oocysts have had time
to develop.
• Feces collected at earlier or later stages of the
3 CLINICAL SIGNS
disease may contain few or no oocysts. In fecal
samples, either “hazy bodies” between the
oocyst wall and the sporont, or oocysts in the 2-
4 LESION cell stage, are diagnostic for I. suis.

5 DIAGNOSIS

6 TRETMENT AND PREVENTION

1 CAUSES
• In piglets, those clinically affected and the others in the
same litter or group should receive anticoccidial treatment.

2 EPIDEMIOLOGY • Sulfonamides can be used. Sulfamethazine (sulfadimidine)

in drinking water may be used but usually needs to be
administered individually.
• Sulfaquinoxaline can be effective.
3 CLINICAL SIGNS
• Trimethoprim sulfonamide by injection or orally can be
useful.

4 LESION • Treatment of individual clinically affected pigs with

amprolium is administered at 10–25 mg/kg, PO, for 4–5
days, and to the rest of the group at 10 kg 25% premixed
per ton of feed to decrease oocyst shedding.
5 DIAGNOSIS
• Toltrazuril (20 mg/kg, PO, once) may assist in infected
animals. In older pigs, it is important to determine causes
and mitigate against them (decreasing overcrowding,
6 TRETMENT AND PREVENTION removing pigs from contaminated areas, etc).
1 CAUSES
PREVENTION & CONTROL
• A vigorous, effective sanitation program, along with
2 EPIDEMIOLOGY careful cleaning and disinfection of farrowing crates
between farrowings is essential.
• Strong bleach or ammonium compounds can be used
3 CLINICAL SIGNS for disinfection after thorough cleaning of the crates.
• Between farrowings, steam cleaning of the entire
farrowing facility may be necessary.
4 LESION
• Sealing all surfaces with paint or a water seal may be
preferable to break the cycle of infection.

5 DIAGNOSIS • Wooden and concrete surfaces are particularly

difficult to clean effectively on affected farms.
Installation of perforated metal or plastic flooring in
the crates will be beneficial in the control of
6 TRETMENT AND PREVENTION coccidiosis and other neonatal enteric diseases.
1 CAUSES
PREVENTION & CONTROL
• On farms known to be affected by coccidiosis, routine
2 EPIDEMIOLOGY treatment of all piglets with toltrazuril early-on will
minimize the incidence and severity of coccidiosis.
There is no proven, widely accepted anticoccidial or
3 CLINICAL SIGNS drug for use in dams that is effective at controlling the
disease in neonates.
• Most cases of coccidiosis associated with Eimeria spp.
4 LESION are the result of the introduction of naïve pigs into a
heavily contaminated environment.
• Control is based on minimizing the dose of oocysts
5 DIAGNOSIS ingested. Scrupulous sanitation between groups of
pigs is usually sufficient to prevent disease.

6 TRETMENT AND PREVENTION

REFERENCES

https://www.msdvetmanual.com/digestive-system/coccidiosis/coccidiosis-of-pigs#v70112399

https://vetmed.iastate.edu/vdpam/FSVD/swine/index-
diseases/coccidiosis#:~:text=Definition,occasionally%20by%20other%20Eimeria%20spp.