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Coccidiosis
Coccidiosis can be a serious disease of young cattle. It is caused by a number of species of the one-celled protozoa, Eimeria.
The Life Cycle
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Signs and symptoms
Coccidiosis usually occurs in calves between 3 and 8 months of age, but can occur as young as 4 weeks. Most cattle are infected with low numbers of Eimeria but clinical disease results if they are subject to heavy infestations or if the animal’s resistance is lowered by stress, poor nutrition or other disease.
Clinical signs range from mild to severe and include diarrhoea, with a distinctive circular pattern of faeces around the tail. It is often blood-stained with mucus. The calves strain and swish their tails. Appetite can be diminished. Death is predominantly a result of electrolyte loss and dehydration caused by the diarrhoea.
The Impact
The effect of the disease on the performance of dairy replacement heifer and dairy beef is recognized. It can be a major problem on individual dairy properties and with weaned heifers on dairy grazing properties. The disease is characterized by high morbidity (infection levels), with moderate deaths and impaired performance of calves that recover.
Because the oocytes are present in the soil and in calf sheds on infected properties, infection carries over to the next season, so farmers are warned to look for early signs of Coccidiosis and start treatment early before an outbreak becomes serious. Economic losses result from poor growth rates, occasional deaths and treatment costs.
Management and Control
- reducing stock density
- regularly shifting feed and water troughs
- preventing faecal contamination of feed and water troughs
- increasing bedding to reduce faecal contamination, and
- cleaning and disinfecting buildings with steam or water blasting and spraying with a product that kills Oocysts.
Prevention can be achieved by feeding meal containing coccidiostats. The danger is that when meal feeding is ceased too early after weaning, symptoms of Coccidiosis may occur.
Infected calves should be separated from the rest. Treatment is by using toltrazuril (Baycox) which is a coccidiocide (kills coccidia). All of the mob including those without symptoms would usually be treated.
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