Epidemiologia da infecção por Eimeria spp. em pequenos ruminantes na microrregião de Garanhuns, Pernambuco, Brasil

Abstract

Eimeria spp. is a protozoan that affects ruminants, horses, swine, lagomorphs and birds. Among the hosts, goats and sheep can be infected by several species of Eimeria, representing a problem for production of small ruminants in terms of treatment costs, as well as unsatisfactory performance of herds due to delayed development and mortality of animals. Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze epidemiological aspects related to parasitism by Eimeria spp. in small ruminants in the Garanhuns microregion, Pernambuco, Brazil. Faecal samples (n = 822) were collected from the rectum of goats (n = 414) and sheep (n = 408), samples were individually processed using the technique described by Gordon and Whitlock. Subsequently, the sporulation culture was carried out in 2.5% potassium dichromate and morphometric analysis of the oocysts was carried out to identify the species. The evaluation of the risk factors was performed through univariate analysis. Of all the analyzed samples, 62.90% (517/822) were positive for Eimeria oocysts, with a general prevalence of 77.79% (322/414) in goats and 47.79% (195/408) in sheep. Eight species were detected in goats (E. arloingi, E. ninakohlyakimovae, E. alijevi, E. jolchijevi, E. caprine, E. christenseni, E. caprovina and E. hirci) and eight in sheep (E. ovinoidalis, E. parva, E. crandallis, E. granulosa, E. bakuensis, E. ashata, E. faurei and E. pallida). For goats, herd size (OR = 5.52), rearing system (OR = 1.57), feeding place (OR = 2.60), absence of mineral salt in the diet (OR = 2.54), installation floor (OR = 2.83) and periodicity of cleaning (OR = 5.39) were considered risk factors. On the other hand, in sheep, only herd size (OR = 3.16) and rearing system (OR = 2.45) were important factors associated with infection by this protozoan. The data reported here are essential for a better understanding of the dynamics of the coccidian infection in these herds, as well as an alert to veterinarians regarding the presence of pathogenic species (E. arloingi and E. ninakohlyakimovae) in goats and (E. ovinoidalis e E. crandallis) in sheep. In the studied rural properties, precarious hygienic and sanitary conditions were observed, mainly in the goat farms favoring the dissemination of Eimeria species. Therefore, it is extremely important to adopt appropriate sanitary measures to prevent infection by these species and to reduce the economic impact on the production of small ruminants.