Eimeria caprovina sp. n. from the domestic goat, Capra hircus, from the USA

Enteric coccidia of Cashmere goats in southwestern Montana, USA

A survey of enteric coccidia was made in a Cashmere goat herd in Montana, USA. Eimerian oocysts were found in 97.2% of 616 fecal samples. Newly weaned wethers and does had higher oocyst counts than yearling wethers. Nine Eimeria species were identified, with Eimeria arloingi, Eimeria ninakohlyakimovae and Eimeria alijevi jointly comprising 88.3% of all oocysts recovered. These three species and Eimeria hirci were present in all specimens examined. Prevalence of the other species was as follows: Eimeria caprina, 88.2%; Eimeria jolchijevi, 70.6%; Eimeria christenseni, 32.4%; Eimeria caprovina, 29.4%; Eimeria apsheronica 26.5%.

Coccidia of the domestic goat (Capra hircus) in Saudi Arabia

Faeces of 228 domestic goats (Capra hircus) from the central region of Saudi Arabia were examined for the presence of coccidian oocysts. Ten species of coccidia were identified and described. A total of 90.3% of the specimens were positive, most of them contained 100-1000 oocysts per g of faecal sample. Kids less than 1 year old had higher oocyst counts than goatlings or adult goats. Mixed infections with three to five species were found in 69.7% of the specimens and six to eight species were found in 10.1%. Eimeria arloingi and E. hirci were most prevalent. E. alijevi, E. ninakohlyakimovae, E. caprina, E. christenseni and E. apsheronica were less common. E. jolchijevi, E. caprovina and E. punctata were relatively rare.

Coccidia of domestic and feral goats in South Australia

Faecal samples were examined from 497 domestic and 318 feral goats in South Australia. Oocysts of Eimeria species were detected in 97% of the domestic goats and 3% of the feral goats. The species of Eimeria identified from domestic goats (and their prevalences) were E. hirci (82%), E. arloingi (81%), E. ninakohlyakimovae (51%), E. alijevi (49%), E. caprina (32%), E. christenseni (29%), E. caprovina (12%), E. jolchijevi (9%) and E. apsheronica (6%). Two of these species, E. caprina and E. jolchijevi, were not found in the feral goats. E. christenseni, E. caprovina and E. jolchijevi were more prevalent in domestic goats less than 12 months old than in adults.

Coccidia of the domestic goat Capra hircus, with notes on Eimeria ovinoidalis and E. bakuensis (syn. E. ovina) from the sheep Ovis aries

Eimerian oocysts were found in 98% of 422 faeces samples from goats in SE England. It was found that 74% of the samples contained thousands or tens of thousands of oocysts/g. Kids less than 1 year old had higher oocyst counts than yearling or adult goats. Nine species of Eimeria were identified, and 65% of the samples contained 3-5 species. The most prevalent species were E. arloingi (94%), E. hirci (69%), E. christenseni (64%) and E. caprina (55%). E. ninakohlyakimovae (48%), E. alijevi (42%) and E. apsheronica (23%) were common, and E. jolchijevi (8%) and E. caprovina (4%) were comparatively rare. Developmental stages of E. caprina destroyed the crypt epithelium in the mucosa of the large intestine, causing severe haemorrhagic enteritis similar to that produced by E. ninakohlyakimovae. The literature on Eimeria species in sheep and goats is reviewed and, on the grounds of priority, E. bakuensis is the correct name for E. ovina in sheep.

Ovine coccidia in Papua New Guinea

Eimeria oocysts were found in 89% of fecal samples collected from the rectum of 75 sheep from 3 locations in Papua New Guinea. Eighty five percent of the hosts which were positive for coccidia had multiple infections with up to 6 different species of Eimeria. In order of decreasing predominance in the 67 Eimeria-positive samples the species were: E. ovina (72%); E. parva (58%); E. ovinoidalis (48%); E. ahsata (45%); E. crandallis (39%); E. faurei (28%); E. intricata (24%); E. granulosa (4%). Fecal oocyst counts showed the highest mean of 1252 oocysts per gram (o.p.g.) for E. parva and a maximum of 8000 for E. ovina.