STUDY OF EIMERIA INTRICATA IN GOAT AND SHEEP FROM BEED DISTRICT, MAHARASHTRA STATE INDIA More B.V., Kamble H.A. and Nikam S.V. 1 Department of Zoology, Ramkrishna Paramhansa Mahavidyalaya, Osmanabad. (M.S.), India. 2 Department of Botany, Ramkrishna Paramhansa Mahavidyalaya, Osmanabad. (M.S.), India. 3 Department of Zoology, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad. (M.S.), India. ABSTRACT During the present study ten species of Eimeria from sheep and twelve species of Eimeria from goats were found. It was seen that five species of Eimeria were common to both hosts, while seven species occurred only in goats and five species only in sheep. The relative prevalence of the sheep and goats are analysed. KEY WORDS: Eimeria, coccidiosis, oocyst, Sporozoite. INTRODUCTION Coccidian parasites of the genus Eimeria (Coccidia: Eimeriidae) are highly susceptible organisms which inhabit and multiplies in the intestinal tract. These parasites cause coccidiosis. In coccidiosis is caused by the genus Eimeria. Within this genus, there are more than ten species of coccidia that are known to infect sheep and goats. Not all of the species are pathogenic or have the same level of pathogenicity. In fact, only few are usually responsible for disease outbreaks. MATERIALS AND METHODS The material for the study of coccidia of goats was obtained from various slaughter houses as well as from different fields in and around Beed (M.S). Different parts of the intestine of slaughtered goats were examined and processed within 4-5 hours after collection. The faecal contents were diluted with distilled water and sieved to remove the large faecal debris. After repeated washing the oocysts were concentrated by centrifugation at 3000 rpm for 10 minutes. The oocysts were then spread out in shallow Petri dishes and covered with 2.5% solution of potassium dichromate for sporulation. OBSERVATION AND RESULTS During the present study twelve species of Eimeria are found in goats. Nine species are redescribed and three are new species. The commonest was E. arloingi, it was found in 80 of 528 positive samples, showing a prevalence of 15.15% of the positive samples or 3.03% of the total sample examined. E. intricata was the fifth found in 55 out of 528 positive samples, representing 10.41% of the positive samples 2.08% of the total samples. During the study ten species of Eimeria are found in sheep, eight species are redescribed and two are new species. Eimeria crandallis was the most frequent, being found in 108 out of 594 positive samples (18.18%) or 4.38% of the total samples. Eimeria intricata was the fifth found in 61out of 594 positive samples, representing 10.26% of the positive samples and 2.47% of the total samples examined. Description of the oocyst of Eimeria intricata in goat The oocysts collected from the goats are ellipsoid or elongate ovoid and large in size. The wall of the oocyst is typically thick, double layered, brownish and rough. The outer layer is 2.0µm thick, but it is thin in the micropylar region. A micropyle and micropylar cap are present. There are transverse striations on the wall. The inner layer is thin 1.2µm, smooth and almost transparent. The micropylar cap is typically flattened and measures 7 to 14µm in width and 2 to 8µm in height. Polar granules and oocystic residuum are absent. The diameter of spherical sporoblast in the unsporulated oocyst measures about 24 to 32µm in diameter. The four elongated, ovoid, with one end pointed and other rounded sporocyst are observed. The pointed end of the sporocyst has small conspicuous button like stieda body. The sporozoites are fusiform and lie head to tail in position. Each sporozoite has two refractile globules. The sporocystic residuum is granular and scattered in the middle region of the sporocyst. Volume 4 Issue 3 (2015) ISSN: 2319 314X (Print); 2319 3158 (Online) 2015 DAMA International. All rights reserved. 13
Description of the oocyst of Eimeria intricata in sheep The oocysts of the species collected from the sheep are thick, brownish double layered and rough. The outer layer is 2.8µm thick brown in colour and thin in the micropylar region. The inner layer is 2.0µm, smooth and transparent. Striations on the oocyst wall seen here also. The micropylar cap is flattened and measures 8 to 18µm in width and 4 to 12µm in height. Polar granule and oocystic residuum are absent. Oocysts found in goat and sheep are similar in shape only they are slightly different in thier sizes. Oocysts found in sheep are slightlylarger than that of goat (shown in table) sporocysts in sheep are also larger than goat. The dimensions of the sporulated oocysts of Eimeria intricata from goats and sheep are as follows: (All measurements are in microns) Particulars Oocyst from goat Oocyst from sheep Length of the oocyst 37.0 55.0 (46.34) 40.0 65.2 (48.54) Width of the oocyst 32.0 42.0 (36.98) 29.0 57.0 (42.09) Length width ratio of the oocyst 1.1 1.3 (1.2) 1.1 1.3 (1.1) Length of the sporocyst 11.0 21.2 (16.34) 14.1 23.4 (19.66) Width of the sporocyst 8.2 16.3 (12.36) 10.4 19.7 (14.21) Length width ratio of the sporocyst 1.3 1.3 (1.3) 1.3 1.3 (1.3) The frequency distribution of the lengths and widths of the oocysts of Eimeria intricata from goats and sheep shown in Graph No.1 Sporulation time: The sporulation time of the oocyst is found to be 72 to 84 hours for both the hosts. Prevalence: The species was found in 2.08% of the 2636 goats and 2.47% of the 2462 sheep examined from Beed district. Fig.1.Unsporulated oocyst of Eimeria intricata From Goat. Fig.2.Unsporulated oocyst of Eimeria intricata From Sheep. Volume 4 Issue 3 (2015) ISSN: 2319 314X (Print); 2319 3158 (Online) 2015 DAMA International. All rights reserved. 14
Fig.1.Sporulated oocyst of Eimeria intricata From Goat. Fig.2. Sporulated oocyst of Eimeria intricata From Sheep. Length (µm) Width (µm) Graph 1. Showing the frequency distribution of the lengths and widths of oocysts of Eimeria intricata from goats and sheep. Volume 4 Issue 3 (2015) ISSN: 2319 314X (Print); 2319 3158 (Online) 2015 DAMA International. All rights reserved. 15
Table No. 1. Showing the comparative dimensions of oocysts of Eimeria intricata from goats and sheep (Based on various authors) (All measurements are in microns) Author Length of the oocyst Width of the oocyst Average Christensen (1938) 39.0 54.0 27.0 36.0 47 x 32 Shah (1963) 47.0 59.0 34.0 47.0 51 x 39 Singh (1963) 43.0 55.0 30.0 46.0 49.8 x 38.9 Restani (1966) 46.0 54.0 31.0 39.0 50 x 35.5 Bhatia and Pande 37.0 54.0 29.0 41.0 46.5 x 35.5 (1970) Bawazir (1980) 37.7 61.2 27.5 49.0 49.1 x 35.1 Nikam (1983) in goat In sheep Jadhav (2002) Present author in goat In sheep 36.0 50.0 34.0 55.0 37.0 55.0 40.0 65.2 25.0 41.0 24.0 42.0 41.5 x 29 43.35 x 32.57 35.0 47.0 24.0 37.0 40.0 x 29.96 032.0 42.0 29.0 57.0 46.34 x36.98 48.54 x42.09 Comments This species was first described from the sheep by Spiegl (1925), and later on by various workers recorded from the domestic goats by Yakimoff (1931), Ray (1961), Jha and Subramanian (1966), Nikam (1983), Chhabra and Pandey (1991). Jadhav (2002). From sheep it was recorded by Balozet (1932), Christensen (1938), Shah (1963), Bawazir (1980), Nikam (1983),Varghese and Yayabu (1985), Ocallaghan et.al (1987), Barutzki et.al (1990), Dasilva et.al (1991), Amarante and Barbosa (1992), Maingi and Munyua (1994), Arsalan et.al (1999), Galip Kaya (2004), Fawzia H Toulah (2007), Gul A (2007), Karl Skirnisson (2007), Mohammad et.al.(2000), Yakhchali and Eqbal Golami (2008), and Yakhchali and Zarei (2008). Comparison of the oocysts from goats and sheep of present author with the previous workers is given in Table No.1 After the observation of the dimensions of the various workers it has seen that the oocysts in goats are approximately simililar in size, only in case of sheep they are slightly larger in size. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The Authors are grateful to the head Dept. of Zoology Dr. B.A.M.University, Aurangabad (M.S.) for providing the library and laboratory facilities. REFERENCES Amarante A.F.T. and Barbosa M.A. (1992). Species of coccidia occurring in lambs in Sao Paulo state, Brazil. Vet. Parasitol.. 41(3-4): 189-193. Arslan M. O. Umar S. and Kara M. (1999).The prevalence of coccidian species in sheep in Kars province of Turkey. J. Trop. Anim. Health Production. 31 (3):161-165. Balozet L. (1932). Les coccidies des petits ruminants de la Tunisie. Bull. Soc. Path. Exot. 25: 710 715. Barutzki D., Marquardt S. and Gothe., R. (1990). Eimeria infections of sheep in Northwest Germany. Vet. Parasitol. 37(1): 79 82. Bawazir S. S. (1980). Studies on the coccidia of some mammals. Ph.D. Thesis, Marathwada University Library, Aurangabad. Chhabra R. C. and Pande, V. S. (1991). Coccidia of goats in Zimbabwe. Vet. Parasitol. 39(3-4): 199 205. Christensen J. F. (1938). Species differentiation in the coccidian from the domestic sheep. Jour. Parasitol. 24: 453-467. Dasilva N. R. and Miller, J. E. (1991). Survey of Eimeria spp. oocysts in feces from Louisiana state University ewes. Vet. Parasitol. 40 (1-2): 147 50. Fawzia H.T. (2007). Prevalence and comparative morphological study of four Eimeria sp. of sheep in Jeddah Area, Saudi Arabia. J. Biol. Sci. 7(2): 413-416. Galip K. (2004). Prevalence of Eimeria species in Lambs in Antakya province. Turk. J. Vet. Anim. Sci. 28: 687-692. Volume 4 Issue 3 (2015) ISSN: 2319 314X (Print); 2319 3158 (Online) 2015 DAMA International. All rights reserved. 16
Gul A. (2007). Prevalence of Eimeria species in sheep in the Bitlis province. Turkiye parazitol. Derg. 31(1): 20-4. Jadhav V. D. (2002). Studies of coccidial fauna from marathwada region. Ph.D. Thesis Marathwada University, Library Aurangabad. Jha D. and Subramanian G. (1966). Incidence of Eimeria species in goats of Uttar Pradesh. Ind. Vet. J. 43: 588-591. Karl skirnisson (2007). Eimeria spp. (Coccidia, protozoa) infections in a flock of sheep in Iceland: species composition and seasonal abundance. I.C.E. Agric. Sci. 20: 73-80. Maingi M. and Munyua W. K. (1994). The prevalence and intensity of infection with Eimeria species in sheep in Nyandarua district of Kenya. Jour. Vet. Res. Comm. 18(1): 19-25. Mohammed R. A., Idris O. A., el Sanousi S. M. and Abdelsalam E. B. (2000). The effect of coccidian infection on the gut microflora of Nublan goat kids. Dtsch Tierarztl Wochensch.107(10): 414-6. Nikam (1983). Studies on the protozoan parasites of some mammals. Ph.D. Thesis, Marathwada University Library Aurangabad. O Callaghan M. G., Odonoghue P. J. and Moore E. (1987). Coccidia in sheep in South Australia. Vet. Parasitol. 24 (3-4): 175-83. Ray D. K. (1961). Survey of coccidial fauna of sheep and goats in India with their regional distribution. An. Health, 2: 1-115. Shah H. L. and Joshi S. C. (1963). Coccidia (Protozoa: Eimeriidae) of goats in Madhya Pradesh with descriptions of the sporulated oocysts of eight species. J.Vet An. Husb. Res. 7: 9-20. Spiegl A. (1925). Ein bisher nicht bekanntes kokzid beim schat. Z. Infektkr, Haust. 28: 42-46. Varghese T. and Yayabu R. (1985). Ovine coccidia in Papua New Guinea. Vet. Parasitol. 17 (3): 181-91. Yakhchali and Golami (2008). Eimeria infection (Coccidia:Eimeriidae) in sheep of different age groups in Sanandaj city. Vet. Arhiv. 78(1):54-64. Yakhchali M. and Zarei M. R. (2008). Prevalence of Eimeria infection in sheep of Tabriz suburb, Iron. Iranian. J. Vet. Res. Shi.Univ. 9 (3): 24. Yakimoff V. L. (1931). Zur frage der coccidie norten der schafe in Russland (USSR). Arch. Protistenk. 75: 157-166. Volume 4 Issue 3 (2015) ISSN: 2319 314X (Print); 2319 3158 (Online) 2015 DAMA International. All rights reserved. 17