| dc.description.abstract | Objectives: The aim of our study was to perform parasitological examinations on
Hungarian rabbit farms, and to report data on the prevalence and morphology of
Eimeria species.
Materials and Methods: Fecal samples were collected in 13 Hungarian rabbit
farms, and 1235 oocysts were evaluated in this study.
Results and Discussion: Eight Eimeria species were identified and more
Eimeria species were observed simultaneously in 83% of the samples. The
Eimeria species occurred in the samples with the following prevalence: E. media
40.3%, E. coecicola 22.5%, E. magna 18.5%, E. perforans 8.3%, E. irresidua 6.8%, E.
flavescens 2.7%, E. intestinalis 0.8%, E. piriformis 0.2%. The proportion of species
with different pathogenicity varied considerably from one life stage to another.
In case of E. media and E. magna, there was a difference between sporulated and
non-sporulated oocysts in terms of both width and length. E. media sporulated
oocysts were on average 10 % longer and wider (p < 0.01), while E. magna sporulated
oocysts were 6–11% shorter and less wide compared to non-sporulated oocysts
(p < 0.05). For the other identified Eimeria species, there was no difference in the
dimensions of sporulated and non-sporulated oocysts. Seventy-one percent of
oocysts originated from species with weak pathogenicity, while 25 percent were
from moderate and 4 percent from highly pathogenic species. The proportions
varied considerably in consecutive production phases. The period of lactation
(weeks 1–5 of life) is characterized by weakly pathogenic species, moderately
and strongly pathogenic ones appeared in proportions below 10 %. In the postweaning period (weeks 6–9 of life), the proportion of oocysts of species classified
as moderately pathogenic increased, but highly pathogenic species were not
detected. In the final phase of fattening (weeks 10–13 of life), slightly pathogenic
species were again present in higher proportions, the proportion of moderately
pathogenic pathogens decreased, and a highly pathogenic species of Eimeria (E.
flavescens) was also detected. | en_US |
