Calf Coccidiosis in Local Dairy Farming System in and Around Haromaya District, Oromiya Region State, Ethiopia (original) (raw)

A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2016 to April 2017 in and around Haramaya district including Haramaya University dairy farm to determine the prevalence of coccidiosis in calves and associated risk factors. Fecal sample were collected from a total of 384 calves with the age of birth to 12 months old by random selection. After collection, the samples were chained with cold and transported to laboratory and examined for the presence of Eimeria oocysts by floatation techniques. For positive sample, a solution of 2.5% potassium dichromate (K Cr O) was added to the feces containing the oocysts for sporulation and 2 2 7 identification of the species. Out of 384 calves, 122 (31.8%) were found to be positive for Eimeria species. There was a statistically significant difference (P<0.05) in prevalence of coccidiosis among the various age categories, management system and hygiene status of calves. However, the sex, body condition of the animals and breed was not significantly associated (P>0.05) with the infection by coccidiosis. A total of 6 species were identified namely Eimeria bovis (22.7%), Eimeria zuernii (17.2%), Eimeria auburnensis (11.7%), Eimeria Canadensis (7%), Eimeria ellipsoidalis (5.5%) and Eimeria cylindrical (3.4%), in order of their relative prevalence. Percentage of single and multiple-species infection of Eimeria species has been investigated on infected calves. Out of the 122 calves positive for Eimeria species, 22.9% were infected with single species, while 55.7%, 14.8% , and 6.6% were found to be infected with two, three and four species respectively. Generally 77.1% were infected with multiple Eimeria species, which were found in this study. The multiple-species infections per positive sample ranged from two to four species.