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Coccidial infections of goats in Selangor, peninsular Malaysia
Veterinary Parasitology 74 Ž1998. 165–172
Coccidial infections of goats in Selangor, peninsular Malaysia A. Jalila a , P. Dorny
b,)
, R. Sani a , N.B. Salim a , J. Vercruysse
b
a
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, UniÕersiti Pertanian Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia b Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Dept. of Parasitology, Salisburylaan 133, Merelbeke, B9820, Belgium Received 24 February 1997; accepted 13 June 1997
Abstract Coccidial infections were studied in goats in the state of Selangor Žpeninsular Malaysia. during a 12-month period. The study included 10 smallholder farms on which kids were monitored for faecal oocyst counts from birth until 1-year old. Eimeria oocysts were found in 725 Ž89%. of 815 faecal samples examined. Nine species of Eimeria were identified. The most prevalent were E. arloingi, found in 71% of the samples, E. ninakohlyakimoÕae Ž67%., E. christenseni Ž63%. and E. alijeÕi Ž61%.. The other species found were, E. hirci, E. jolchijeÕi, E. caproÕina, E. caprina and E. pallida, present in 34, 22, 12, 9 and 4% of the samples, respectively. Oocyst counts were significantly higher in animals of less than 4-months old Ž P - 0.05.. High oocyst counts were mainly caused by non-pathogenic species. Poor hygienic conditions were found to be associated with a higher intensity of coccidial infections. Mortality rates in kids could not be related to the intensity of coccidial infections. q 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. Keywords: Eimeria spp; Goat; Malaysia
1. Introduction High mortality has been identified as one of the major constraints of goat production in Malaysia ŽMukherjee et al., 1991.. Mortality rate can reach up to 63% in kids during their first year of age ŽSymoens et al., 1993.. Infectious diseases including pasteurellic pneumonia and endo- and ectoparasitism, together with mismanagement and nutritional deficiencies are considered to be the main reasons for these high losses ŽDorny et al., )
Corresponding author. Tel.: q60-32-9-264-74-04; fax: q60-32-9-264-74-96; e-mail: [email protected]
0304-4017r98r$19.00 q 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII S 0 3 0 4 - 4 0 1 7 Ž 9 7 . 0 0 1 3 3 - 7
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A. Jalila et al.r Veterinary Parasitology 74 (1998) 165–172
1994, 1995; Fatimah et al., 1992; Syed, 1976; Symoens et al., 1993; Zamri-Saad et al., 1987.. In most cases several factors were found to be involved concurrently and cumulative pathogenic effects should be expected. Among gastrointestinal parasite infections in Malaysian goats, strongylosis caused chiefly by Haemonchus contortus, was shown to be of great importance, especially in young kids ŽDaud, 1991; Dorny et al., 1995.. Little attention has been given to the role of coccidial infections. A few studies demonstrated the presence of different Eimeria spp. in Malaysian goats ŽAminBabjee et al., 1990; Daud, 1991; Fatimah et al., 1989; Syed, 1976., but no attempt was made to relate these findings to epidemiological or pathological factors. Also these studies were done on large institutional farms and not on traditional farms on which 80% of the Malaysian goat population, estimated at 288,000, is kept ŽMukherjee et al., 1991.. The present survey was aimed to identify the species currently occurring on traditional goat farms and to study patterns of infection according to age, management and nutritional factors, and relate these findings to pathological factors.
2. Materials and methods 2.1. Study site The study was made between December 1991 and December 1992 in the Hulu Langat district in the state of Selangor, peninsular Malaysia, which lies between the first and second northern parallels. The climate, without distinct seasons, is warm and humid. Weather data pertaining to the study period were obtained from the Universiti Pertanian Malaysia ŽUPM. meteorological station. 2.2. Farms, animals and management The study comprised 10 traditional goat farms. The number of animals on each farm ranged between 12 and 60. The breeds involved were the local katjang and their crosses at different degrees with several exotic breeds. On one farm, some pure Australian Feral goats were kept. Animals were kept in a semi-intensive management system: they were penned at night and in the morning in wooden sheds with raised slatted floor and allowed to graze in the afternoon for 3 to 5 h in rubber or oil palm plantations, on road sides or on uncultivated land. There was no particular breeding season; births were recorded throughout the year. Following birth, kids were kept in or around the shed for 1 or 2 months, after which they followed their dams to the grazing areas. Kids were naturally and progressively weaned from 3 months of age onwards. Feed supplementation was provided on all farms but it varied between farms: on some farms grass, weeds and leaves were cut and given to the animals, on other farms goats were supplemented with rice porridge, kitchen leftovers or goat concentrates. Water was usually supplied in buckets in the shed, salt blocks were irregularly given in some of the farms. Basic health management was practiced during the study period.
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2.3. Epidemiological surÕey At the start of the study, all animals of the herds were recorded, ear tagged, weighed and their age registered. The herds were visited at fortnightly intervals during which all animals were identified, their health condition recorded, births, deaths, purchases and sales recorded, all new animals ear-tagged, and rectal faecal samples collected from all kids less than 1 year. A total of 125 kids were monitored from which 815 faecal samples were collected during the study period. The samples were transported to the lab in a cool box and processed on the same day. For each farm, management and feeding system such as, number of animals, number of kids, grazing time and type of feed supplementation was recorded. Hygiene status was determined throughout the survey by assessing the following criteria related to the shed: ventilation, elevation above ground level and exposure of the shed to direct sunlight, presence of faeces in and under the shed, frequency of cleaning and space for each animal. 2.4. Parasitological methods Oocysts counts were done by means of a modified Mc Master technique with a precision of 100 oocysts per gram of faeces ŽOPG. ŽAnonymous, 1986.. In the case of very high counts further dilution of the faecal suspension by 10 or 100 times was done to enable counting. Identification of oocysts was done after sporulation at room temperature Ž26–338C. in a 2% potassium dichromate solution. Oocysts were concentrated by centrifugal floatation using saturated sodium chloride solution. Measurements of oocysts were done with an ocular eyepiece, calibrated with a micrometer, under a 40 = objective. They were identified according to the keys of Pellerdy Ž1974. and Anonymous Ž1986.. 2.5. Data analysis Faecal oocyst counts were logarithmically transformed Žln Žcount q 1.. before analysis. Mean oocyst counts are given after exponential reconversion. One way analysis of variance, Duncan multiple range test and multiple regression procedure were used to analyse the data. The effects of management, feeding and hygiene were analysed by step wise multiple regression procedure. The factors were, the farm, age of kids, the number of kids in the herd, hygiene level, feeding system, sex, breed and intensity of rainfall Žrain Žmm. between two sampling dates.. Farms which had more than 15 kids were considered as large and with less than 15 as small. Farms were categorized as having good hygiene if six criteria were met, namely, sheds built more than 1 m above ground-level, exposure to sunshine, good ventilation, regular removal of the dung from under the shed, no overcrowding, and a clean floor. Farms were classified as having moderate hygiene if three to five of these criteria were met, and as having poor hygiene if less than three criteria were met.
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3. Results During the study period of 1 year, the rainfall was 2307 mm and an average relative humidity of 96.4% was recorded. No actual dry season occurred, but only dry spells of 1 or 2 weeks. Temperature showed very little fluctuation throughout the study; average minimum and maximum daily temperatures of 22.58C and 32.98C, respectively, were recorded. A total of 725 Ž89%. of the 815 faecal samples taken during the study period were positive for Eimeria oocysts. The prevalence was highest in young animals which also showed higher oocyst counts. The geometric mean oocyst counts according to age are presented in Fig. 1. A peak in mean oocyst counts was observed at the age of 10–12 weeks, which coincided with the weaning period. Mean oocyst counts declined afterwards and were below 2000 after the 20th week of age. The intensity of oocyst counts according to age groups is shown in Fig. 2. In kids under 16-weeks old, 123 Ž34%. faecal samples had oocyst counts between 10,000 and 100,000 and 69 Ž19%. had counts of over 100,000. High counts were rare in older kids. Oocyst counts of age groups Žclasses 2–16; 18–32 and 32–56 weeks. were significantly different Ž P - 0.05.. Nine species of Eimeria were identified. The most prevalent were E. arloingi, found in 71% of the samples, E. ninakohlyakimoÕae Ž67%., E. christenseni Ž63%. and E. alijeÕi Ž61%.. The other species found were E. hirci, E. jolchijeÕi, E. caproÕina, E. caprina and E. pallida, present in 34, 22, 12, 9 and 4% of the samples, respectively. E. ninakohlyakimoÕae, the most pathogenic species, was relatively unimportant at all ages and high oocyst counts in kids were mainly due to less pathogenic species ŽFig. 1.. The number of kids in the herd, the feeding system, sex, breed and the intensity of rainfall did not affect the intensity of oocyst counts. On the other hand, the hygiene level
Fig. 1. Mean faecal oocyst counts and proportion of oocyst counts of E. ninakohlyakimoÕae of goats according to age.
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Fig. 2. Intensity of oocyst counts in goats according to age groups.
was found to affect the intensity of the oocyst counts Ž P - 0.05.. The overall mean oocyst counts on each farm during the study period, the hygiene status and the mortality during the first 150 days are presented in Table 1. Two farms were classified as having good hygiene, seven as moderate, and one as poor. The highest overall mean oocyst count was found in the farm of poor hygiene while the two farms with high hygienic standards had the lowest counts. Mortality in young kids Ž0–150 days. was very high on all farms and ranged from 24.4% to 83.2%. Mortality rate was not affected by hygiene status nor by the intensity of coccidial infections.
Table 1 Coccidial infections on traditional goat farms in peninsular Malaysia: relation between hygiene level, intensity of coccidial infection and 0–150 days mortality rate Farm
Hygiene
No. of kids monitored
Overall mean oocyst count ŽOPG.
Mortality rate 0–150 Ž%.
12 13 14 9 10 2 11 7 22 4
Poor Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate Good Good
12 6 9 31 15 11 3 12 17 8
149,043 a ) 51,430 a,b 22,091a,b 17,517 a,b 10,882 b 9479 b 6265 b 6221b 127 c 62 c
40.7 24.4 37.1 47.4 35.0 33.8 83.2 30.0 57.6 58.8
)
Means bearing different superscripts are significantly different at P - 0.05 in Duncan’s multiple range test.
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4. Discussion The finding of a very high prevalence of coccidial infections in goats in this study is in agreement with observations made in other countries where an infection rate of 80–98% has been recorded ŽLima, 1980; Norton, 1986; O’Callaghan, 1989; de la Fuente and Alunda, 1992.. Over 13 species of coccidia have been recorded from goats from different parts of the world ŽChhabra and Pandey, 1991.. In this study, nine species of Eimeria were identified in smallholder farms in West Malaysia, among which E. jolchijeÕi, E. caprina and E. caproÕina were reported for the first time in this country. E. aspheronica Ž E. faurei ., which was described in Malaysia by Fatimah et al. Ž1989., was not found in our study. The prevalence of coccidial infections was highest in young animals which also showed significantly higher oocyst counts. The higher intensity of infections in kids of 6–16 weeks may be explained by the reduction of passive immunity provided by the colostrum during the first weeks ŽTaylor, 1995., by the lack of acquired immunity at this young age, but also by the current management of keeping young kids alongside their dams in and near the shed and thus exposing them to a higher infection level. After 16 weeks of age, the oocyst counts showed a decreasing trend indicating that acquired immunity had developed. The peak oocyst counts were observed around weaning. This conforms to other observations ŽKanyari, 1988; Fivaz et al., 1990; Penzhorn et al., 1994.. Mortality around weaning has been shown to be very important on Malaysian smallholder farms and has been attributed mainly to parasitic gastroenteritis, pneumonia and mange ŽSymoens et al., 1993.. A possible role of coccidiosis in these mortality cases is difficult to assess. Yvore´ et al. Ž1980. claimed that severe enteric lesions with diarrhoea and very high oocyst counts are associated with severe coccidiosis. In our study, diarrhoea was not a common clinical sign in kids and high oocyst counts were only rarely associated with diarrhoea. The absence of clinical symptoms of coccidiosis may have been due to the species involved and to the management. E. ninakohlyakimoÕae is considered to be the most pathogenic species ŽPellerdy, 1974.. Yvore´ et al. Ž1987. associated counts of 200,000 E. ninakohlyakimoÕae oocysts per gram faeces with severe diarrhoea, depression and death, while in the case of E. arloingi counts up to 24 = 10 6 OPG were only associated with mild, transient diarrhoea. Although E. ninakohlyakimoÕae in our study was widespread, differential oocyst counts showed that the intensity of infections caused by this species was low in most cases. Thus, high oocyst counts were mainly caused by species of lower pathogenicity and not by E. ninakohlyakimoÕae. One of the most common factors that precipitate coccidiosis is heavily contaminated environment ŽSchillhorn van Veen, 1986.. According to Catchpole et al. Ž1993., clinical coccidiosis is mainly seen in intensive systems; in less intensive systems disease rarely occurs because the young animals meet the parasites more gradually and are able to gain effective immunity. A traditionally built Malaysian shed for small ruminants presents opportunities for low levels of oocyst contamination through its elevated slatted floor, making evacuation of faecal pellets easy. In our study the intensity of infection was
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found to be related to the hygiene level. Good hygiene reduces the transmission of coccidia, the rate of infection and the prevalence of disease ŽForeyt, 1990.. Accumulation of faeces in the shed is reduced if the floor is well conceived and maintained. On the other hand the direct environment of the shed may be heavily contaminated when the dung is not regularly removed from under the shed. This may be a source of infection with coccidia but also with nematodes when the animals are allowed to graze around the shed as is often practiced for the dams with their kids. Other factors including the number of kids in the herd, the feeding system, sex, the breed and the intensity of rainfall did not affect the intensity of infections in the present study. This may have been due to the absence of a breeding season in goats in Malaysia, to the similarity of the feeding systems between the farms, and to the very small climatic variations during the year. Association of coccidiosis with concomitant infections such as, helminthiasis, pneumonia, mange and contagious ecthyma, and with a poor nutritional status due to weaning without supplementation, may be responsible for the observed increase of mortality at weaning. Hygiene was found to have a major impact on the infection level on the farms. Keeping the floor of the shed clean and regularly removing the dung from under the shed may drastically reduce coccidial infections. Acknowledgements This study was carried out within the framework of the Malaysia–Belgium Veterinary Project ŽVI.I.R., Belgium. at the Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. We thank Dr. C. Symoens and Mat Zaki bin Mahmud for their invaluable help. References Amin-Babjee, S.M., Lee, C.C., Sheikh-Omar, A.R., Syed, S.M., 1990. An abattoir study of gastrointestinal parasites of adult indigenous goats. J. Vet. Malaysia 2, 103–108. Anonymous, 1986. Manual of Veterinary Parasitology Laboratory Techniques. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. HMSO, London, UK, pp. 78–81. Catchpole, J., Norton, C.C., Gregory, M.W., 1993. Immunisation of lambs against coccidiosis. Vet. Rec. 132, 56–59. Chhabra, R.C., Pandey, V.S., 1991. Coccidia of goats in Zimbabwe. Vet. Parasitol. 39, 199–205. Daud, A., 1991. Gastrointestinal parasitism in goats. In: Saithanoo, S., Norton, B.W. ŽEds.., Goat Production in the Asian Humid Tropics. Proceedings of an international seminar, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Thailand, 28–31 May 1991, pp. 201–205. Dorny, P., Symoens, C., Jalila, A., Vercruysse, J., Sani, R., 1995. Strongyle infections in sheep and goats under the traditional husbandry system in peninsular Malaysia. Vet. Parasitol. 56, 121–136. Dorny, P., Van Wyngaarden, T., Vercruysse, J., Symoens, C., Jalila, A., 1994. Survey on the importance of mange in the aetiology of skin lesions in goats in peninsular Malaysia. Trop. Anim. Health Prod. 26, 81–86. Fatimah, I., Borhan, A.S., Whitten, L.K., 1989. Gastrointestinal parasitism in goats. In: Proceedings of the 6th International Conference of Institutes for Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Livestock Production and Diseases in the Tropics, 28 August–1 September 1989. International Agricultural Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands, pp. 351–353.
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Fatimah, I., Zamri-Saad, M., Davis, M.P., Rajion, M.A., 1992. Disease and mortality surveillance of sheep imported from Australia. Malaysian Vet. J. 4, 87–96. Fivaz, B.H., Horak, I.G., Williams, E.J., 1990. Helminths and arthropod parasites of Angora goats on irrigated Kikuyu grass pastures in the Eastern Cape Province. J. S. Afr. Vet. Assoc. 61, 112–116. Foreyt, W.J., 1990. Coccidiosis and crytosporidiosis in sheep and goats. Vet. Clin. North Am. Food Anim. Pract. 6, 655–670. de la Fuente, C., Alunda, J.M., 1992. A quantitative study of Eimeria infections of goats from central Spain. Vet. Parasitol. 41, 7–15. Kanyari, P.W.N., 1988. Coccidiosis in goats and aspects of epidemiology. Aust. Vet. J. 65, 257–258. Lima, J.D., 1980. Prevalence of coccidia in domestic goats from Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Wisconsin. Int. Goat Sheep Res. 1, 234–241. Mukherjee, T.K., Sivaraj, S., Panadam, J.M., 1991. Goat production in Malaysia. In: Saithanoo, S., Norton, B.W., ŽEds.., Goat Production in the Asian Humid Tropics. Proc. Int. Sem. Hat Yai, Thailand, 28–31 May 1991, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Thailand, pp. 7–14. Norton, C.C., 1986. Coccidia of the domestic goat Capra hircus, with notes on Eimeria oÕinoidalis and E. bakuensis Žsyn. E. oÕina. from the sheep OÕis aries. Parasitology 92, 279–289. O’Callaghan, M.G., 1989. Coccidia of domestic and feral goats in South Australia. Vet. Parasitol. 30, 267–272. Pellerdy, L.P., 1974. Coccidia and Coccidiosis, 2nd edn., Paul Parey, Berlin, Germany, 959 pp. Penzhorn, B.L., Rognlie, M.C., Hall, L.L., Knapp, S.E., 1994. Enteric coccidia of Cashmere goats in southwestern Montana, USA. Vet. Parasitol. 55, 137–142. Syed, S.M., 1976. Goat mortality in Institute Haiwan. Malaysian Vet. J. 6, 72–79. Symoens, C., Dorny, P., Alimon, R., Jalila, A., Hardouin, J., Vercruysse, J., 1993. Productivity of goats in smallholdings of peninsular Malaysia. In: Sivaraj, S., Agamuthu, P., Mukherjee, T.K. ŽEds.., Advances in Sustainable Small Ruminant–Tree Cropping Integrated Systems. IPTrIDRC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, pp. 129–136. Schillhorn van Veen, T.W., 1986. Coccidiosis in ruminants. Comp. Food Anim. 8, 52–58. Taylor, M., 1995. Diagnosis and control of coccidia in sheep. In Pract. 17, 172–177. Yvore, ´ P., Dupre, ´ P., Esnault, A., Besnard, J., 1980. Experimental coccidiosis in the young goat: parasitic development and lesions. Int. Goat Sheep Res. 1, 163–167. Yvore, de la coproscopie ´ P., Esnault, A., Mage, C., Dobbels, M., Naciri, M., 1987. Interet ´ ˆ et interpretation ´ dans la coccidiose des petits ruminants. Le Point Vet. ´ 19, 43–48. Zamri-Saad, M., Sheik-Omar, A.R., Chooi, K.F., Chulan, U., 1987. Disease conditions of goats in Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. Pertanika 10, 247–251.
Coccidial infections of goats in Selangor, peninsular Malaysia A. Jalila a , P. Dorny
b,)
, R. Sani a , N.B. Salim a , J. Vercruysse
b
a
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, UniÕersiti Pertanian Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia b Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Dept. of Parasitology, Salisburylaan 133, Merelbeke, B9820, Belgium Received 24 February 1997; accepted 13 June 1997
Abstract Coccidial infections were studied in goats in the state of Selangor Žpeninsular Malaysia. during a 12-month period. The study included 10 smallholder farms on which kids were monitored for faecal oocyst counts from birth until 1-year old. Eimeria oocysts were found in 725 Ž89%. of 815 faecal samples examined. Nine species of Eimeria were identified. The most prevalent were E. arloingi, found in 71% of the samples, E. ninakohlyakimoÕae Ž67%., E. christenseni Ž63%. and E. alijeÕi Ž61%.. The other species found were, E. hirci, E. jolchijeÕi, E. caproÕina, E. caprina and E. pallida, present in 34, 22, 12, 9 and 4% of the samples, respectively. Oocyst counts were significantly higher in animals of less than 4-months old Ž P - 0.05.. High oocyst counts were mainly caused by non-pathogenic species. Poor hygienic conditions were found to be associated with a higher intensity of coccidial infections. Mortality rates in kids could not be related to the intensity of coccidial infections. q 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. Keywords: Eimeria spp; Goat; Malaysia
1. Introduction High mortality has been identified as one of the major constraints of goat production in Malaysia ŽMukherjee et al., 1991.. Mortality rate can reach up to 63% in kids during their first year of age ŽSymoens et al., 1993.. Infectious diseases including pasteurellic pneumonia and endo- and ectoparasitism, together with mismanagement and nutritional deficiencies are considered to be the main reasons for these high losses ŽDorny et al., )
Corresponding author. Tel.: q60-32-9-264-74-04; fax: q60-32-9-264-74-96; e-mail: [email protected]
0304-4017r98r$19.00 q 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII S 0 3 0 4 - 4 0 1 7 Ž 9 7 . 0 0 1 3 3 - 7
166
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1994, 1995; Fatimah et al., 1992; Syed, 1976; Symoens et al., 1993; Zamri-Saad et al., 1987.. In most cases several factors were found to be involved concurrently and cumulative pathogenic effects should be expected. Among gastrointestinal parasite infections in Malaysian goats, strongylosis caused chiefly by Haemonchus contortus, was shown to be of great importance, especially in young kids ŽDaud, 1991; Dorny et al., 1995.. Little attention has been given to the role of coccidial infections. A few studies demonstrated the presence of different Eimeria spp. in Malaysian goats ŽAminBabjee et al., 1990; Daud, 1991; Fatimah et al., 1989; Syed, 1976., but no attempt was made to relate these findings to epidemiological or pathological factors. Also these studies were done on large institutional farms and not on traditional farms on which 80% of the Malaysian goat population, estimated at 288,000, is kept ŽMukherjee et al., 1991.. The present survey was aimed to identify the species currently occurring on traditional goat farms and to study patterns of infection according to age, management and nutritional factors, and relate these findings to pathological factors.
2. Materials and methods 2.1. Study site The study was made between December 1991 and December 1992 in the Hulu Langat district in the state of Selangor, peninsular Malaysia, which lies between the first and second northern parallels. The climate, without distinct seasons, is warm and humid. Weather data pertaining to the study period were obtained from the Universiti Pertanian Malaysia ŽUPM. meteorological station. 2.2. Farms, animals and management The study comprised 10 traditional goat farms. The number of animals on each farm ranged between 12 and 60. The breeds involved were the local katjang and their crosses at different degrees with several exotic breeds. On one farm, some pure Australian Feral goats were kept. Animals were kept in a semi-intensive management system: they were penned at night and in the morning in wooden sheds with raised slatted floor and allowed to graze in the afternoon for 3 to 5 h in rubber or oil palm plantations, on road sides or on uncultivated land. There was no particular breeding season; births were recorded throughout the year. Following birth, kids were kept in or around the shed for 1 or 2 months, after which they followed their dams to the grazing areas. Kids were naturally and progressively weaned from 3 months of age onwards. Feed supplementation was provided on all farms but it varied between farms: on some farms grass, weeds and leaves were cut and given to the animals, on other farms goats were supplemented with rice porridge, kitchen leftovers or goat concentrates. Water was usually supplied in buckets in the shed, salt blocks were irregularly given in some of the farms. Basic health management was practiced during the study period.
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2.3. Epidemiological surÕey At the start of the study, all animals of the herds were recorded, ear tagged, weighed and their age registered. The herds were visited at fortnightly intervals during which all animals were identified, their health condition recorded, births, deaths, purchases and sales recorded, all new animals ear-tagged, and rectal faecal samples collected from all kids less than 1 year. A total of 125 kids were monitored from which 815 faecal samples were collected during the study period. The samples were transported to the lab in a cool box and processed on the same day. For each farm, management and feeding system such as, number of animals, number of kids, grazing time and type of feed supplementation was recorded. Hygiene status was determined throughout the survey by assessing the following criteria related to the shed: ventilation, elevation above ground level and exposure of the shed to direct sunlight, presence of faeces in and under the shed, frequency of cleaning and space for each animal. 2.4. Parasitological methods Oocysts counts were done by means of a modified Mc Master technique with a precision of 100 oocysts per gram of faeces ŽOPG. ŽAnonymous, 1986.. In the case of very high counts further dilution of the faecal suspension by 10 or 100 times was done to enable counting. Identification of oocysts was done after sporulation at room temperature Ž26–338C. in a 2% potassium dichromate solution. Oocysts were concentrated by centrifugal floatation using saturated sodium chloride solution. Measurements of oocysts were done with an ocular eyepiece, calibrated with a micrometer, under a 40 = objective. They were identified according to the keys of Pellerdy Ž1974. and Anonymous Ž1986.. 2.5. Data analysis Faecal oocyst counts were logarithmically transformed Žln Žcount q 1.. before analysis. Mean oocyst counts are given after exponential reconversion. One way analysis of variance, Duncan multiple range test and multiple regression procedure were used to analyse the data. The effects of management, feeding and hygiene were analysed by step wise multiple regression procedure. The factors were, the farm, age of kids, the number of kids in the herd, hygiene level, feeding system, sex, breed and intensity of rainfall Žrain Žmm. between two sampling dates.. Farms which had more than 15 kids were considered as large and with less than 15 as small. Farms were categorized as having good hygiene if six criteria were met, namely, sheds built more than 1 m above ground-level, exposure to sunshine, good ventilation, regular removal of the dung from under the shed, no overcrowding, and a clean floor. Farms were classified as having moderate hygiene if three to five of these criteria were met, and as having poor hygiene if less than three criteria were met.
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3. Results During the study period of 1 year, the rainfall was 2307 mm and an average relative humidity of 96.4% was recorded. No actual dry season occurred, but only dry spells of 1 or 2 weeks. Temperature showed very little fluctuation throughout the study; average minimum and maximum daily temperatures of 22.58C and 32.98C, respectively, were recorded. A total of 725 Ž89%. of the 815 faecal samples taken during the study period were positive for Eimeria oocysts. The prevalence was highest in young animals which also showed higher oocyst counts. The geometric mean oocyst counts according to age are presented in Fig. 1. A peak in mean oocyst counts was observed at the age of 10–12 weeks, which coincided with the weaning period. Mean oocyst counts declined afterwards and were below 2000 after the 20th week of age. The intensity of oocyst counts according to age groups is shown in Fig. 2. In kids under 16-weeks old, 123 Ž34%. faecal samples had oocyst counts between 10,000 and 100,000 and 69 Ž19%. had counts of over 100,000. High counts were rare in older kids. Oocyst counts of age groups Žclasses 2–16; 18–32 and 32–56 weeks. were significantly different Ž P - 0.05.. Nine species of Eimeria were identified. The most prevalent were E. arloingi, found in 71% of the samples, E. ninakohlyakimoÕae Ž67%., E. christenseni Ž63%. and E. alijeÕi Ž61%.. The other species found were E. hirci, E. jolchijeÕi, E. caproÕina, E. caprina and E. pallida, present in 34, 22, 12, 9 and 4% of the samples, respectively. E. ninakohlyakimoÕae, the most pathogenic species, was relatively unimportant at all ages and high oocyst counts in kids were mainly due to less pathogenic species ŽFig. 1.. The number of kids in the herd, the feeding system, sex, breed and the intensity of rainfall did not affect the intensity of oocyst counts. On the other hand, the hygiene level
Fig. 1. Mean faecal oocyst counts and proportion of oocyst counts of E. ninakohlyakimoÕae of goats according to age.
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Fig. 2. Intensity of oocyst counts in goats according to age groups.
was found to affect the intensity of the oocyst counts Ž P - 0.05.. The overall mean oocyst counts on each farm during the study period, the hygiene status and the mortality during the first 150 days are presented in Table 1. Two farms were classified as having good hygiene, seven as moderate, and one as poor. The highest overall mean oocyst count was found in the farm of poor hygiene while the two farms with high hygienic standards had the lowest counts. Mortality in young kids Ž0–150 days. was very high on all farms and ranged from 24.4% to 83.2%. Mortality rate was not affected by hygiene status nor by the intensity of coccidial infections.
Table 1 Coccidial infections on traditional goat farms in peninsular Malaysia: relation between hygiene level, intensity of coccidial infection and 0–150 days mortality rate Farm
Hygiene
No. of kids monitored
Overall mean oocyst count ŽOPG.
Mortality rate 0–150 Ž%.
12 13 14 9 10 2 11 7 22 4
Poor Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate Good Good
12 6 9 31 15 11 3 12 17 8
149,043 a ) 51,430 a,b 22,091a,b 17,517 a,b 10,882 b 9479 b 6265 b 6221b 127 c 62 c
40.7 24.4 37.1 47.4 35.0 33.8 83.2 30.0 57.6 58.8
)
Means bearing different superscripts are significantly different at P - 0.05 in Duncan’s multiple range test.
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4. Discussion The finding of a very high prevalence of coccidial infections in goats in this study is in agreement with observations made in other countries where an infection rate of 80–98% has been recorded ŽLima, 1980; Norton, 1986; O’Callaghan, 1989; de la Fuente and Alunda, 1992.. Over 13 species of coccidia have been recorded from goats from different parts of the world ŽChhabra and Pandey, 1991.. In this study, nine species of Eimeria were identified in smallholder farms in West Malaysia, among which E. jolchijeÕi, E. caprina and E. caproÕina were reported for the first time in this country. E. aspheronica Ž E. faurei ., which was described in Malaysia by Fatimah et al. Ž1989., was not found in our study. The prevalence of coccidial infections was highest in young animals which also showed significantly higher oocyst counts. The higher intensity of infections in kids of 6–16 weeks may be explained by the reduction of passive immunity provided by the colostrum during the first weeks ŽTaylor, 1995., by the lack of acquired immunity at this young age, but also by the current management of keeping young kids alongside their dams in and near the shed and thus exposing them to a higher infection level. After 16 weeks of age, the oocyst counts showed a decreasing trend indicating that acquired immunity had developed. The peak oocyst counts were observed around weaning. This conforms to other observations ŽKanyari, 1988; Fivaz et al., 1990; Penzhorn et al., 1994.. Mortality around weaning has been shown to be very important on Malaysian smallholder farms and has been attributed mainly to parasitic gastroenteritis, pneumonia and mange ŽSymoens et al., 1993.. A possible role of coccidiosis in these mortality cases is difficult to assess. Yvore´ et al. Ž1980. claimed that severe enteric lesions with diarrhoea and very high oocyst counts are associated with severe coccidiosis. In our study, diarrhoea was not a common clinical sign in kids and high oocyst counts were only rarely associated with diarrhoea. The absence of clinical symptoms of coccidiosis may have been due to the species involved and to the management. E. ninakohlyakimoÕae is considered to be the most pathogenic species ŽPellerdy, 1974.. Yvore´ et al. Ž1987. associated counts of 200,000 E. ninakohlyakimoÕae oocysts per gram faeces with severe diarrhoea, depression and death, while in the case of E. arloingi counts up to 24 = 10 6 OPG were only associated with mild, transient diarrhoea. Although E. ninakohlyakimoÕae in our study was widespread, differential oocyst counts showed that the intensity of infections caused by this species was low in most cases. Thus, high oocyst counts were mainly caused by species of lower pathogenicity and not by E. ninakohlyakimoÕae. One of the most common factors that precipitate coccidiosis is heavily contaminated environment ŽSchillhorn van Veen, 1986.. According to Catchpole et al. Ž1993., clinical coccidiosis is mainly seen in intensive systems; in less intensive systems disease rarely occurs because the young animals meet the parasites more gradually and are able to gain effective immunity. A traditionally built Malaysian shed for small ruminants presents opportunities for low levels of oocyst contamination through its elevated slatted floor, making evacuation of faecal pellets easy. In our study the intensity of infection was
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found to be related to the hygiene level. Good hygiene reduces the transmission of coccidia, the rate of infection and the prevalence of disease ŽForeyt, 1990.. Accumulation of faeces in the shed is reduced if the floor is well conceived and maintained. On the other hand the direct environment of the shed may be heavily contaminated when the dung is not regularly removed from under the shed. This may be a source of infection with coccidia but also with nematodes when the animals are allowed to graze around the shed as is often practiced for the dams with their kids. Other factors including the number of kids in the herd, the feeding system, sex, the breed and the intensity of rainfall did not affect the intensity of infections in the present study. This may have been due to the absence of a breeding season in goats in Malaysia, to the similarity of the feeding systems between the farms, and to the very small climatic variations during the year. Association of coccidiosis with concomitant infections such as, helminthiasis, pneumonia, mange and contagious ecthyma, and with a poor nutritional status due to weaning without supplementation, may be responsible for the observed increase of mortality at weaning. Hygiene was found to have a major impact on the infection level on the farms. Keeping the floor of the shed clean and regularly removing the dung from under the shed may drastically reduce coccidial infections. Acknowledgements This study was carried out within the framework of the Malaysia–Belgium Veterinary Project ŽVI.I.R., Belgium. at the Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. We thank Dr. C. Symoens and Mat Zaki bin Mahmud for their invaluable help. References Amin-Babjee, S.M., Lee, C.C., Sheikh-Omar, A.R., Syed, S.M., 1990. An abattoir study of gastrointestinal parasites of adult indigenous goats. J. Vet. Malaysia 2, 103–108. Anonymous, 1986. Manual of Veterinary Parasitology Laboratory Techniques. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. HMSO, London, UK, pp. 78–81. Catchpole, J., Norton, C.C., Gregory, M.W., 1993. Immunisation of lambs against coccidiosis. Vet. Rec. 132, 56–59. Chhabra, R.C., Pandey, V.S., 1991. Coccidia of goats in Zimbabwe. Vet. Parasitol. 39, 199–205. Daud, A., 1991. Gastrointestinal parasitism in goats. In: Saithanoo, S., Norton, B.W. ŽEds.., Goat Production in the Asian Humid Tropics. Proceedings of an international seminar, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Thailand, 28–31 May 1991, pp. 201–205. Dorny, P., Symoens, C., Jalila, A., Vercruysse, J., Sani, R., 1995. Strongyle infections in sheep and goats under the traditional husbandry system in peninsular Malaysia. Vet. Parasitol. 56, 121–136. Dorny, P., Van Wyngaarden, T., Vercruysse, J., Symoens, C., Jalila, A., 1994. Survey on the importance of mange in the aetiology of skin lesions in goats in peninsular Malaysia. Trop. Anim. Health Prod. 26, 81–86. Fatimah, I., Borhan, A.S., Whitten, L.K., 1989. Gastrointestinal parasitism in goats. In: Proceedings of the 6th International Conference of Institutes for Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Livestock Production and Diseases in the Tropics, 28 August–1 September 1989. International Agricultural Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands, pp. 351–353.
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