Aislamiento e inefectividad en cabritos de una cepa de Eimeria ninkohlyakimovae aislada en Gran Canaria (España)

Abstract

Coccidiosis produced by Eimeria species constitutes one of the most important parasitic diseases for the caprine production systems, with special relevance in goat kids around weaning. Because of the importance of goat rearing in the Canary Islands and other arid and semi-arid zones of different geographical locations, the availability of a defined species of Eimeria could enable the possibility to develop experimental studies of basic and applied research on caprine coccidiosis. In the present study we intented to isolate a strain of Eimeria ninakohlyakimovae and to evaluate the infectivity in experimental conditions, as this Eimeria species is considered one of the most pathogenic for goats. The isolation was carried out using faecal samples from naturally infected animals. Afterwards, 4 week-old goat kids were infected with 2 x 105 sporulated oocysts and the infection was monitored based on parasitological pathological and productive parameters. The strain which was isolated, named E. ninakohlyakimovae GC, had a prepatent period of 14-15 days and a noticeable pathogenicity. The clinical course was characterized by diarrhoea, dehydration and general impairment of the animals, and was associated to strong eosinophilic enterocolitis and delayed growth rates. Besides, the decrease of the OPG counts and the intensity of the clinical signs in challenged kids would indicate that the strain was able to induce a protective immune response in the host. Altogether, the data reported in the present study suggest that the strain E. ninakohlyakimovae GC could be used for the evaluation of the mechanisms of pathogenicity and the characterization of the host immune response in caprine coccidiosis, as prerequisites for the development of future strategies for prophylaxis and control of the disease