Short communication: prevalence of Eimeria spp. infection in domestic rabbits of Polish farms

Abstract

The studies were carried out on 14 farms which deals with meat race of rabbits breeding. The basic herds had from 14 to 85 rabbits. The studies were carried on West Pomerania ( near Chojna) and warmińsko-mazurskie province (near Elbląg). Faecal samples were collected from examined animals and quali-quantitatively analysed to evaluate presence and number of Eimeria oocysts. In addition, isolated Eimeria oocysts were identified at the species level following sporulation. The study was based on two flotation methods:Willis-Schlaaf for qualitative and McMaster for quantitative analysis, which helped to establish the number of oocysts in 1g of feces (OPG). Ten species of coccidian were found in which 9 were intestinal (E. exigua, E. perforans, E. media, E. magna, E. irresidua, E. coecicola, E. flavescens, E. piriformis, E. intestinalis) and one was living in liver (E. stiedai).The dynamics of coccidia infection in the annual cycle showed large fluctuations. The OPG coefficient reached its maximum in mid-May at 21 100 oocyst / g. Exact knowledge of the biology of protozoan Eimeria will contribute to the development of prevention programs that stop the spread of the disease in rabbits.

Keywords

• rabbit, prevalence, coccidiosis, eimeria spp.