Eimeriosis Seasonal Dynamics Patterns at an Organic Sheep Farm in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Abstract This epidemiological study monitored the occurrence of the coccidia genus Eimeria and their species composition over a oneyear period at an organic sheep farm in the Czech Republic. Individual faecal samples were collected from thirty lambs and thirty ewes once a month throughout the whole survey. As a result, 348 and 333 samples from ewes and lambs respectively were evaluated using the faecal flotation technique. The overall prevalence of eimeriosis was 75.7% and 54.0% for lambs and ewes respectively. Four Eimeria species (E. ovinoidalis, E. crandallis/weybridgensis, E. parva, and E. intricata) were identified in both, lambs and ewes, during this survey. The most prevalent species was E. ovinoidalis, with an overall prevalence of 84% in ewes and 85% in lambs, followed by E. parva and E. crandallis/weybridgensis. The oocysts faecal output was seasonal. The highest oocysts per gram levels were detected in February (139 000) and May (250 000) in ewes and in February (1 949 900), March (326 000), and May (187 700) in lambs. The intensity of Eimeria infection differed significantly (P < 0.0001) between ewes and lambs during the monitored period.