Immunological and histopathological evaluation of Eimeria tenella oocysts Egyptian local isolate vaccine and its comparative efficacy with a commercial live vaccine

Coccidiosis is the most important protozoan disease in broilers all over the world. Controlling of broilers coccidiosis via vaccination rather than chemicals is a new trend with promising results. Thus, the present work describes an evaluation of Eimeria tenella Lab-made vaccine of local Egyptian strain and its comparative efficacy with a commercial live vaccine "Fortegra®". Eighty broiler chickens one day old were used; they were divided in to 4 equal groups; 20 chicks each. Group 1 (G1) kept as control negative, G2 administrated orally with lab-made sporulated oocysts vaccine at 5 days old, the birds of G3 vaccinated orally with Fortegra® at day 6 of age, and G4 served as control positive. All birds were challenge by 50,000 sporulated oocysts of E. tenella at day 21. For testing the efficacy and comparison; OPG (oocyst per gram), serum Interleukin4 (IL4) levels, Immunoglobulin A (IgA) levels in both serum and ceca, cecal lesion score, as well as histopathological changes in ceca of tested groups were evaluated. The results demonstrated significantly elevated IL4 level in serum and IgA level in serum and cecum of G2 than G3. IgA in cecum significantly elevated in G2 than G3. OPG significantly decreased in both vaccinated groups (G2 and G3), and have lower lesion score than nonimmunized group. Cecal tissues of vaccinated groups had mild pathological changes. Conclusively, good immunization by the currently tested vaccine, against experimental E. tenella infection was observed.

Anticoccidial and hepatoprotective effects of artemisinin liquid extract, cinnamon essential oil and clove essential oil against Eimeria stiedae infection in rabbits

Coccidiosis is one of the most dangerous diseases that affect poultry, resulting in worldwide economic losses. Plant extracts and essential oils have been used as potential alternatives for chemotherapeutics, because they don't have the negative consequence of creating tissue residue and drug resistance. Therefore, this study had been conducted to determine the efficacy of artemisinin liquid extract, cinnamon essential oil and clove essential oil against Eimeria stiedae in rabbits. Sixty New Zealand white rabbits were divided into six equal groups, where group 1 and group 2 represented the negative and the positive controls, respectively, and groups 3-6 were infected with Eimeria stiedae and received 15 ppm toltrazuril, 200 ppm artemisinin, 100 mg/kg cinnamon oil, and 100 mg/kg clove oil, respectively. The results showed that artemisinin had a significant beneficial role in protection against hepatic coccidiosis: it mitigated the clinical symptoms, reduced the mortality rates, improved body weight and feed conversion, decreased the oocyst output, prevented oxidative stress, improved biochemical parameters, and decreased the lesion formation. Moreover, it has been found that cinnamon and clove essential oils induced partial protection against hepatic coccidiosis. Our findings suggested that artemisinin liquid extract and cinnamon and clove essential oils could be used for protection against hepatic coccidiosis. However, further investigations are needed in order to elucidate the active components, optimal doses, and mode of action of these extracts and essential oils before their clinical applications.

Observations of the rabbit pinworm Passalurus ambiguus (Rudolphi, 1819) in domestic rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in Egypt using a scanning electron microscope

Passalurus ambiguus (Rudolphi, 1819) is one of the most common oxyurid nematodes to be found in domestic and wild rabbits worldwide. In order to identify and determine the morphological characteristics of this pinworm, the current research was conducted as a microscopic study, using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Adult P. ambiguus were collected from naturally infected domestic rabbits in Egypt. Identification was made primarily by ordinary microscope, and subsequently, the morphological features were evaluated by SEM. Results indicate that SEM is a powerful tool to identify in detail the morphological characteristics such as the head, male cloacal area, female tail and the female copulatory plugs. All these features confirm the species is P. ambiguus and show the effectiveness of the SEM to differentiate P. ambiguus from related oxyurid species.