Coccidiosis in piglets seen from the point of view of the practising veterinarian

Diversity of enteric coccidia in pigs from the Paraíba Semiarid Region of Northeastern Brazil

There is great diversity in swine coccidia, which are responsible for causing intestinal disorders ranging from sporadic diarrhea to severe cases of hemorrhagic enteritis. Thus, determining the species of coccidia that affect the animals of a region and associating them with the characteristics of the farms become extremely important. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of coccidia parasites in pigs reared in a family farming production system in the Semiarid Region of the State of Paraíba, Northeast Brazil. Fecal samples for analysis were collected from 187 pigs on 51 farms. For morphological analysis, 1,590 sporulated oocysts were used. The prevalence of oocysts in fecal samples was 56.6% (106/187). The most prevalent species were Eimeria suis (21.9%), followed by Eimeria neodebliecki (16.6%), Eimeria perminuta (14.9%), Eimeria polita (12.8%), Eimeria debliecki (10.6%), Eimeria porci (10.1%), Cystoisospora suis (3.7%), Eimeria scabra (1.6%) and Eimeria cerdonis (0.5%). It can be concluded that pigs from the Semiarid Region of the State of Paraíba were parasitized by a diversity of coccidia species, mainly of the genus Eimeria, and predominantly presented with mixed infections occurring in the subclinical form.

Pharmacokinetics of toltrazuril and its metabolites in pregnant and nonpregnant ewes and determination of their concentrations in milk, allantoic fluid, and newborn plasma

The objectives of this study were to determine the pharmacokinetics of toltrazuril and its metabolites in pregnant and nonpregnant ewes following a single oral dose and to determine the plasma concentrations of these compounds in milk, allantoic fluid, and newborn plasma. Eighteen healthy ewes were randomly divided into three groups (n = 6 each): pregnant ewes at 12-13 weeks of gestation (group A), nonpregnant ewes (group B), and pregnant ewes at 1-2 weeks before expected lambing date (group C). Ewes in all groups received a single oral dose of toltrazuril at 20 mg/kg body weight. In groups A and B, blood samples were collected at 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 15, 18 hr, every 6 hr to day 3, every 12 hr to day 7 and thereafter every 24 hr to day 14 post-toltrazuril administration. In group C, parturition was induced 24-36 hr after toltrazuril administration then milk, allantoic fluid, and newborn plasma samples were collected immediately after birth. Drug metabolites were assayed using ultra high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection method (UHPLC-UV). The maximum concentration (C_max ), area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC_0-t) , AUC to 24 and 48 hr (AUC_0-24 ), and (AUC_0-48 ) were significantly higher in pregnant ewes. Longer apparent half-life (T_1/2 ), significantly higher apparent volume of distribution (Vd/F) and total clearance (Cl/F) were observed in nonpregnant ewes. The time to maximum plasma concentration (T_max ), mean residence time (MRT) and elimination rate constant (K_el ) were similar in both groups. The AUC_0-24 and AUC_0-48 were significantly higher in nonpregnant ewes. The AUC_0-t was significantly higher in pregnant ones. The ratio of plasma toltrazuril concentrations in ewes and toltrazuril concentrations in newborn lambs' plasma, allantoic fluid, and milk were 68%, 2.3%, and 5.3%, respectively. Results of this study showed that toltrazuril is well absorbed after a single oral dose in ewes with widespread distribution in different body tissues.

Control of piglet coccidiosis by chemical disinfection with a cresol-based product (Neopredisan 135-1®)

Isospora suis is a common pathogen in piggeries and one of the main causative agents of scours in suckling piglets. Besides specific treatment, optimised hygiene including chemical disinfection is considered essential in the control of isosporosis. The suitability of the cresol-based product Neopredisan 135-1(R) (NP) to inactivate oocysts in vitro and to reduce infection pressure in commercial piggeries was evaluated. Under in vitro conditions, NP at a final concentration of 2 or 4% induced lysis of more than 95% of sporulated oocysts at a contact time of 30 min and destroyed all oocysts after a contact time of 90 min or more. A total of six trials (T1-T6) were performed on two farms (I and II). T5 was split into two parts, T5/1 and T5/2. Two groups of litters kept in farrowing crates either disinfected conventionally before farrowing (controls, group C) or disinfected with 4% dilution of NP before farrowing and with 2% NP one to three times thereafter (group NP) were compared in each trial. Altogether, 81 litters were randomly allocated to group NP and 77 litters to group C (comprising a total of 1,465 piglets). Piglet faeces were collected individually 5 days after birth and six times thereafter in intervals of 2 or 3 days from four piglets per litter and microscopically examined for oocysts of I. suis. Diarrhoea scores, other clinical data (skin turgidity, coat length etc.), weights and loss of piglets until weaning were recorded. One trial (T3) could not be analysed because of insufficient cleaning before disinfection. In group C, litter prevalence of I. suis ranged between 40 and 80%. The proportion of positive litters was considerably reduced by approximately 50% in disinfected crates except for one trial, and the number of affected piglets decreased by up to 80%. Diarrhoea and oocyst excretion were significantly associated. Diarrhoea was less frequently observed in disinfected crates. In general, isosporosis appeared mild to subclinical, and no significant effects of disinfection on other clinical data, weight gain and number of weaned piglets were noted. It is concluded that NP efficiently inactivates oocysts of I. suis, and that additional disinfection after farrowing is suited to reduce infection pressure. No clear relation of infection prevalence to the frequency of intermediate disinfection (one, two or three times) was seen, and thus, single intermediate disinfection 1 week after farrowing is considered sufficient.