title: Eimeria infections in goats in Southern Portugal.
abstract: Coccidiosis caused by Eimeria species is a major form of intestinal infection affecting intensively and semi-intensively reared goats. The province of Alentejo is the main goat-producing area in Portugal. Therefore, all 15 Serpentina goat farms in Alentejo were analyzed regarding the occurrence and diversity of Eimeria species. Fecal samples obtained from 144 animals (52.1% dairy goats, 47.9% pre-pubertal goats) were examined using the modified McMaster technique to determine the number of oocysts per gram of feces. Eimeria spp. oocysts were present in 98.61% of the fecal samples and, overall, nine different Eimeria species were identified. The most prevalent species were E. ninakohlyakimovae (88%) and E. arloingi (85%), followed by E. alijevi (63%) and E. caprovina (63%). The average number of oocysts shed was significantly lower in dairy goats than in pre-adult animals. Astonishingly, no clinical signs of coccidiosis were observed in any of the animals examined, even though they were shedding high numbers of oocysts and were infected with highly pathogenic species. Thus, implementation of routine diagnostic investigation of the occurrence and diversity of caprine Eimeria species may be a useful tool for determination and better understanding of their potential economic impact on goat herds in southern Portugal.
authors: Núcleo da Mitra, Instituto de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais Mediterrânicas ? ICAAM, Instituto de Investigação e Formação Avançada ? IIFA, Universidade de Évora ? UEVORA, Évora, Portugal.
authors: Liliana Machado Ribeiro da
authors: LM
authors: Silva
authors: Núcleo da Mitra, Instituto de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais Mediterrânicas ? ICAAM, Instituto de Investigação e Formação Avançada ? IIFA, Universidade de Évora ? UEVORA, Évora, Portugal.
authors: Maria João Martins
authors: MJ
authors: Vila-Viçosa
authors: Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação em Sanidade Animal ? CIISA, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária ? FMV, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa ? UTL, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors: Telmo
authors: T
authors: Nunes
authors: Institute of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Justus Liebig University Giessen ? JLU, Giessen, Germany.
authors: Anja
authors: A
authors: Taubert
authors: Institute of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Justus Liebig University Giessen ? JLU, Giessen, Germany.
authors: Carlos
authors: C
authors: Hermosilla
authors: Núcleo da Mitra, Instituto de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais Mediterrânicas ? ICAAM, Instituto de Investigação e Formação Avançada ? IIFA, Universidade de Évora ? UEVORA, Évora, Portugal.
authors: Helder Carola Espiguinha
authors: HC
authors: Cortes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003048:Coccidiosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary*; D004539:Eimeria; D005260:Female; D015511:Goat Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology*; D006041:Goats; D010273:Parasitic Diseases, Animal / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011174:Portugal