title: Light microscopic study on Eimeria species infecting Japanese quails reared in Saudi Arabian farms.
abstract: Japanese quails Coturnix coturnix japonica reared in economic farms were individually investigated for coccidian infections. The results indicated the absence of infections in birds younger than 1 month. An Eimeria infection rate of up to 80% was detected in birds 7-9 weeks old with a general infection rate of 29%. The infection rate decreased to 21.42% in birds older than 10 weeks. Morphometric characteristics of freshly shed, unsporulated oocysts were taken. These oocysts appeared pale yellow in color, were oval to subspherical in shape being limited by a bilayered oocyst wall of 1.2 microm. The unsporulated oocysts measured 17.73 +/- 12.92 x 12.79 +/- 1.69 microm (mean of 100) and possessed a polar granule, a micropyle and an oocyst residuum. The sporulation took 72 h and resulted in the formation of four elongated sporocysts containing two sporozoites, in addition to a stieda body and a sporocyst residuum. The life cycle of this Eimeria species was followed in experimentally infected quails. Three asexual generations (at 60, 78, and 96 h p.i.) were detected in the epithelium of the small intestine before the sexual cycle started at 84 h p.i. The prepatent period was 5 days, while the patent period covered 6-7 days. Besides this well-defined species, another Eimeria species occurred, the oocysts of which were excreted in low numbers and were characterized by the absence of a micropyle and an oocyst residuum. These oocysts measured 15.73 +/- 2.22 x 14.18 +/- 1.89 microm (mean of 100) and sporulated already within 60 h.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Abdel-Rahman
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Bashtar
authors.forename: Fathy
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Abdel-Ghaffar
authors.forename: Khaled A S
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Al-Rasheid
authors.forename: Heinz
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mehlhorn
authors.forename: Ibrahim
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Al Nasr
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D003048:Coccidiosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D003370:Coturnix / Q000469:parasitology*; D004539:Eimeria / Q000166:cytology* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000469:parasitology; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D033661:Oocysts / Q000166:cytology; D015995:Prevalence; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D033761:Spores, Protozoan / Q000166:cytology