Chemotherapy of Chicken Coccidiosis

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the chemotherapy of chicken coccidiosis. Coccidiosis of the chicken can be caused by any one of nine species of parasite, either alone or in combination. Only six of the species— Eimeria acervulina , Eimeria brunetti , Eimeria maxima , Eimeria mivati , Eimeria necatrix , and Eimeria tenella are thought to be of economic significance. E. necatrix and E. tenella can give rise to spectacular outbreaks of disease, with blood-stained litter and appreciable mortality, whereas other species are more insidious in their attack. The greater part of the coccidial developmental cycle takes place in the chicken, and most attempts at control have involved the use of preventive or therapeutic medication in the host. The source of infection however, is the omnipresent oocyst, passed out at the end of the life cycle in the bird, and subsequently undergoing the process of sporulation on the ground before becoming infective to a new host. The chapter also discusses the modes of drug action and drawing attention to the possibility of inhibiting development of coccidia without actually killing the parasite. Drugs that have activity against coccidia are usually referred to as coccidiostats.