Eimeria Stiedae Research Articles

Reduction of the infectivity of Toxoplasma gondii and Eimeria stiedai sporozoites by treatment with bovine lactoferricin.

Sporozoites of Toxoplasma gondii preincubated with lactoferricin showed decreased activity in penetration of mouse embryonal cells. Mice inoculated with 10(5) sporozoites preincubated with lactoferricin showed a higher survival rate than those inoculated with the same number of untreated sporozoites. Likewise, sporozoites of Eimeria stiedai preincubated with lactoferricin also showed decreased activity in penetration of rabbit hepatobiliary cells. Rabbits inoculated with 10(5) sporozoites preincubated with lactoferricin shed fewer oocysts than those inoculated with the same number of untreated sporozoites. These results indicate that lactoferricin is effective to reduce the infectivity of sporozoites of Toxoplasma gondii and Eimeria stiedai.

Prévalence de la coccidiose hépatique causée par <em>Eimeria stiedai</em> chez des lapins domestiques au Nigeria oriental

L’examen de foies de 131 lapins (103 jeunes et 28 adultes) achetés directement auprès d’éleveurs locaux et dans des marchés ruraux du Nigeria oriental a montré que la coccidiose hépatique causée par Eimeria stiedai est endémique dans cette région. Quarante et un de ces lapins (37,4 p. 100) étaient infectés. Le rapport entre le foie et le poids corporel, utilisé ici comme indice de la pathologie générale des lapins infectés, a été significativement plus élevé (P < 0,05) chez ces derniers que chez les lapins non-infectés. La coccidiose hépatique a été prévalente chez les lapins dans tous les sites étudiés. D’autres études sur cet aspect de la santé des lapins sont recommandées pour assurer le succès de la production de lapins dans les communautés villageoises du Nigeria oriental.

Virus-like particles in Eimeria nieschulzi are associated with multiple RNA segments

RNA preparations from sporulated oocysts of Eimeria nieschulzi were found to contain 2 double-stranded RNA segments of 5.0 kb and 5.7 kb that were not present in other species of Eimeria. Treatment of crude lysates with RNase A revealed that in addition to these two segments, 3 other segments of 0.57 kb, 0.72 kb and 11.5 kb were protected from digestion, suggesting that they were enclosed within particles. Virus-like particles with a diameter of approximately 39 nm were purified by caesium chloride buoyant density centrifugation. Four of the five RNA segments copurified with these particles. In keeping with the nomenclature generally adopted for protozoan viruses, we have named this new isolate ENV 1. The largest RNA segment does not cosediment with ENV 1 particles and may be derived from another RNA-protein complex that is unstable under the conditions used. The particle size and genome structure of ENV 1 both differ from that of the Eimeria stiedae virus (ESV), which is the only other virus to have been isolated from Eimeria to date. Short cDNA clones derived from ENV 1 show significant homology to a region of the Leishmania virus (LRV 1) genome that encodes an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. The polymerase sequences from ENV 1 and LRV 1 are more closely related to each other than to any other protein sequences in the GenEMBL Database. This raises intriguing questions about the origins of the two viruses, since Eimeria and Leishmania normally infect different hosts and also show different cell tropisms within these hosts.

The phylogenetic relationships of the genus Eimeria based on comparison of partial sequences of 18S rRNA

Reverse transcription of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) was used to obtain partial sequences of the small subunit rRNA (ssrRNA) of three species of Eimeria: Eimeria maxima, Eimeria stiedae and Eimeria tenella. These sequences were aligned with the homologous ssrRNA sequence segments of a range of other organisms in the phylum Apicomplexa, along with representatives of the ciliates, fungi, flagellates, higher plants and higher eukaryotes. Two phylogenetic tree building methods were used to investigate the phylogenetic relationships among the Eimeria species, and between the Eimeria and the other organisms represented, using Vairimorpha necatrix as an outgroup. The results show that Eimeria is almost certainly monophyletic with the apicomplexans Sarcocystis, Toxoplasma and Cryptosporidium. The three species of Eimeria differ among each other at a maximum of 9 out of 600 nucleotides at the ssrRNA locus. Such intrageneric variation is high by vertebrate standards, but low by protist standards.

The effect of the host's age on the pathology of Eimeria stiedai infection in rabbits.

The pathology of experimental Eimeria stiedai infection in 2- and 4-month-old rabbits raised coccidia-free was studied. Over 50 days of infection, the serum activities of aspartate (AST) and alanine (ALT) aminotransferases, alkaline phosphatase (AP) and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGTP) were analyzed as indicators of hepatic lesions and total serum globulins with respect to the immune response of the host; parasite development was followed by oocyst output; weight gain, food intake and relative liver weight were analyzed to control the performance of infected animals. The age of the host strongly affected parasite development and consequently the biochemical and zootechnical parameters differed more markedly in the younger animals; however, the enzyme ALT showed an increase independent of parasite development, and infection did not affect GGTP activity. The increase in age was responsible for resistance of rabbits to hepatic coccidiosis and older animals were less affected than young ones.

Eimeria stiedai in rabbits: the demonstration of responses to chemotherapy

The activity of sulphaquinoxaline, robenidine, methyl benzoquate, clopidol and a mixture of methyl benzoquate and clopidol (Lerbek; Dow), was studied in rabbits infected with hepatic coccidiosis due to Eimeria stiedai. Growth inhibition, oocyst production and the activity in the serum of glutamate dehydrogenase and gamma glutamyltransferase were studied as indicators of parasite development. Only sulphaquinoxaline and Lerbek gave satisfactory control of this parasite. The latter formulation was more effective than either of its constituents used alone.

Pathophysiology of hepatic coccidiosis in rabbits

Abstract Four groups of 5 40-day-old, Eimeria stiedai -naive, New Zealand rabbits were infected with 0 (Group A), 10 2 (B), 10 3 (C) and 10 4 (D) sporulated oocysts of E. stiedai and observed for 50 days. Serum glutamic pyruvic (GPT) and glutamic oxalacetic (GOT) transaminases, bilirubinemia, lipemia, proteinemia, glycemia, oocyst output, body, carcass and liver weights, and mortality were recorded. Four physiopathological events were identified: (1) a phase of indirect damage to the hepatocytes that takes place during the first 2 weeks of infection and is characterized by increased transaminases; (2) a cholestatic period consequent to the production of oocysts that begins suddenly in the 3rd week, diminishes gradually towards the 7th week, and is characterized by a rise of bilirubinemia and lipemia; (3) a stage of metabolic dysfunction that begins in the 3rd–4th week, intensifies for the next 3 weeks and starts to recover during the 7th week. It is characterized by hypoproteinemia and hypoglycemia; (4) a period of immunodepression characterized by the inability of the heavily infected host to inhibit oocyst production. Apart from the cholestatic phase, the respective pathogenic mechanisms remains to be studied.

Diagnosis of experimental encephalitozoonosis in rabbits by complement fixation.

A complement-fixation (CF) test has been developed for detection of experimental encephalitozoonosis in rabbits. The antigen consisted of disrupted homogenates of Encephalitozoon cuniculi spores grown in and released from rabbit choroid plexus tissue culture cells. The test was sensitive and capable of detecting experimental encephalitozoonosis in rabbits as early as 15 days after intracerebral infection. The test was specific for infected animals, and no cross-reactivity was demonstrated between E. cuniculi antigen and Nosema apis, Trypanosoma congolese, Trypanosoma cruzi, rabbit liver powder, rabbit brain powder, and rabbit choroid plexus cell culture. Sera from rabbits infected with Toxoplasma gondii, Eimeria stiedai, and Eimeria perforans did not exhibit antibodies to E. cuniculi. No CF-inhibition activity was detected.

Results of blood transfusions from donor rabbits infected with Eimeria stiedai to recipient coccidiafree rabbits.

SYNOPSISBlood, withdrawn by heart puncture, from donor rabbits infected with Eimeria stiedai, was transfused by heart puncture, to uninfected recipient rabbits. Fifty‐nine of 76 young coccidia‐free recipients, given heparinized whole blood, erythrocytes or leucocytes from donors orally inoculated up to 27 days earlier, developed E. stiedai infections.

Structure and respiration of sporulating Eimeria stiedae and E. tenella oocysts.

SYNOPSIS. The structure and respiration of sporulating Eimeria tenella and E. stiedae oocysts was compared. Oocysts were purified by Clorox digestion and incubated at 29 C. The sporulation events were similar for both species, except for the spindle stage, altho sporulation took longer in E. stiedae. Sporulating oocysts go thru the process with some degree of synchrony.Oocyst respiration was measured polarographically. An early increase in respiratory rate in both species was followed by a depression in rate that correlated with the appearance of the early spindle stage. The rate again increased and then decreased toward a base rate during and after completion of sporulation.E. tenella oocysts incubated in air remained viable 4 times longer than those incubated in nitrogen. E. tenella sporozoites excysted and remained motile in the presence of sodium cyanide. These facts suggest that E. tenella sporozoites are facultative anaerobes.

Coccidiosis in wild rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculua (L.) at four sites in different climatic regions in eastern Australia II.The relationship of oocyst output to climate and to some aspects of the rabbit's physiology

Rabbit populations were sampled regularly during 1962-64 at four sites in different climatic regions (subalpine, mediterranean, subtropical, and semi-arid) in eastern Australia. A total of 2981 rabbits were taken by shooting at night. Oocysts in the faeces were identified as Eimeria stiedae, E. media, E. perforans, E. irresidua, E. magna, E. piriformis, and E. exigua. Infections were highest and most frequent at the subalpine site, less at the sites with mediterranean and subtropical climates, and were not common at the semi-arid site. Regular seasonal fluctuations occurred at the subalpine and mediterranean sites, with troughs occurring in summer. Multiple regression analysis of oocyst count on several anatomical and climatic measurements showed that, except at the semi-arid site, oocyst count was significantly related to measurements highly correlated with host age, and to evaporation (during the preceding 8 weeks); at the semi-arid site rainfall was the only really significant factor. Differences between species of coccidia were small compared with the differences between sites.

The Estimation of Age-Specific Infection Rates from a Curve of Relative Infection

Consider a sample of individuals (in which the age classes are not necessarily proportionally represented) from a population subject to some permanent infection. A procedure is described for the estimation of the infection rate as a function of age, and of the expectation of life after infection. The method is applied to unpublished data supplied by P. C. Bull on the incidence of liver lesions due to coccidiosis (Eimeria stiedae) in the New Zealand wild rabbit.

THE EFFECT OF THE PROTOZOAN PARASITE, EIMERIA STIEDAE, ON THE SUCCINIC DEHYDROGENASE ACTIVITY OF LIVER TISSUE OF RABBITS

Annals of the New York Academy of SciencesVolume 52, Issue 4 p. 496-500 THE EFFECT OF THE PROTOZOAN PARASITE, EIMERIA STIEDAE, ON THE SUCCINIC DEHYDROGENASE ACTIVITY OF LIVER TISSUE OF RABBITS Barnett F. Smith, Barnett F. Smith The Department of Biology, Spelman College, Atlanta, Ga., and the Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WisconsinSearch for more papers by this authorW. H. McShan, W. H. McShan The Department of Biology, Spelman College, Atlanta, Ga., and the Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WisconsinSearch for more papers by this author Barnett F. Smith, Barnett F. Smith The Department of Biology, Spelman College, Atlanta, Ga., and the Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WisconsinSearch for more papers by this authorW. H. McShan, W. H. McShan The Department of Biology, Spelman College, Atlanta, Ga., and the Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WisconsinSearch for more papers by this author First published: November 1949 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1949.tb53935.xCitations: 4 This work was supported by the Atlanta University Center Grants-in-Aid Committee in cooperation with the Carnegie Corporation. AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Citing Literature Volume52, Issue4CoccidiosisNovember 1949Pages 496-500 RelatedInformation

Eimeria brevoortiana, a New Sporozoan Parasite from Menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus), with Observations on Its Life History

Most of the species of the genus Eimeria are intestinal parasites throughout their life histories. In a few instances o6cysts have been found in various other organs of the host animal, such as kidney, spleen, liver, air bladder and testis. With the exception of one, Eimeria stiedae (Lindemann), which is parasitic in the liver of rabbits, the life histories of these species are incompletely known. Any information, therefore, which helps explain their peculiar behavior will no doubt be of value in determining the relationships of other members of the genus and of the genus itself. During the course of an investigation of the parasites of marine fishes, o6cysts of an eimerian parasite were found in the testes of menhaden. Two parasites of this nature have previously been described from the testes of fishes, E. sardinae (Thelohan, 1890) from sardines, and E. nishin Fujita (1934) from herring. In these cases, as with the present species, the only stages seen in the testes were those that belonged to the sporogonic cycle, zygotes, sporocysts, and sporozoites. Since the typical life history of an eimerian includes a schizogonic as well as a sporogonic cycle, a study was begun to determine the location of the former in menhaden. Smears and sections of testes, stomach, pyloric ceca, intestine, spleen, liver and kidney were examined. Eventually, structures resembling the schizogonic stages of other eimerians were found in the epithelium of the pyloric ceca-spores, schizonts, macroand microgametocytes. Together with the cycle of sporogony in the testes they form a complete life history of an eimerian, which is described in the following pages. The writer is indebted to many friends for help during the course of the work, particularly to Dr. A. S. Pearse of Duke University, under whose direction it was carried out. Dr. H. F. Prytherch kindly extended the facilities of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Laboratory at Beaufort, North Carolina. Capt. Chas. Hatsell and many fishermen of Beaufort helped in collecting material, and Margaret Hardcastle aided the writer greatly in the examination of much of it. Dr. D. C. Boughton of the United States Bureau of Animal Industry read the manuscript and made many helpful suggestions.

Parasites of Cottontail Rabbits on the San Joaquin Experimental Range, California

From August 1941 to March 1942, 44 cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus audubonii vallicola) were examined for parasites at the Los Angeles Wildlife Disease Research Station of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in part of a cooperative study of the causes of wildlife fluctuations in western United States by the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Forest Service. The rabbits were trapped alive by Henry S. Fitch and Lowell Adams on the San Joaquin Experimental Range, in the foothills at the eastern edge of the San Joaquin Valley near O'Neals, Madera County, California. Most of the rabbits were killed and autopsied shortly after being received, but 20 were kept for periods up to two months for experimental purposes. Fecal samples from the latter animals were examined periodically and 10 were inoculated with Eimeria stiedae from domestic rabbits. Passed feces were examined by the zinc sulfate centrifugation technique described by Faust, et al. (1939). At autopsy, the body cavities were opened and search made for cycticerci of Taenia pisiformis. Blood from the heart, liver, and lung was mixed with physiological saline and examined under low magnification. The liver and contents of the gall bladder were searched for Eimeria stiedae. The alimentary canal was opened and each organ examined separately. Smears in physiological saline from the contents of each area and scrapings of the mucosa were examined microscopically. The contents were then washed with tap water in both black and white enamel pans and any parasites were removed to physiological saline for further washing before being killed and preserved. Cultures of coccidia were prepared in 2 per cent potassium dichromate. Nematodes were killed in hot 70 per cent alcohol and later cleared in phenol-alcohol for identification. Cestodes were killed in a hot mixture of alcohol, formalin, and acetic acid. Identification of cestodes was made

Coccidiosis—Coccidioidomycosis

An error in terminology which recently occurred in this Journal again focuses attention on the confusion of coccidiosis and coccidioidomycosis. Coccidiosis refers to an infection by one of the animal parasites included under the Order Coccidia of the Class Sporozoa; coccidioidomycosis is an infection caused by the fungus Coccidioides immitis. Coccidia parasitize the epithelial cells of the intestines and livers of many hosts and are found in their feces. They are of considerable economic importance in poultry raising and other phases of animal industry. Coccidia commonly infect the intestines of chickens and other birds (Eimeria avium) , the livers of rabbits (Eimeria stiedae), the intestines of dogs and cats (Isospora bigemina), the intestines of cattle, guinea-pigs, mice, moles, and snakes. They have been claimed to infect the intestines and liver of man, but such infections as may occur in man are said to be very mild. Coccidioides is an etymological derivative of Coccidia. When Rixford and Gilchrist published their account of “Two Cases of Protozoan (Coccidioidal) Infection of the Skin and Other Organs” in 1896, they believed that the etiological agent was an animal parasite, a Sporozoon. They stated: “In order to emphasize the important analogies between our parasite and the coccidia, and at the same time indicate that we are not prepared at present to regard it as an unmistakable coccidium, we propose for it, in accordance with a suggestion of Dr. Stiles, the generic name Coccidioides, and we designate the species as Coccidioides immitis.” In 1900 Ophuls and Moffitt published the proof that the organism is a fungus and not an animal parasite. Five years later Ophuls stated: “As a name for the disease I should propose coccidioidal granuloma.” Unfortunately, no other valid name was proposed for the fungus so that now mycologists have generally accepted the designation Coccidioides, thereby insuring confusion with coccidia in perpetuity. Until Gifford and Dickson proved that so-called “San Joaquin” or “Valley Fever” was caused by C. immitis, coccidioidal granuloma was the only form of the infection which was recognized. When Dickson published his first paper on “Valley Fever” in 1937, he recognized the necessity of offering a name which would include those benign coccidioidal infections as well as the frequently fatal coccidioidal granuloma. His suggestion was “coccidioidomycosis.” While “coccidiosis” is a tempting abbreviation of this cumbersome word, it will be apparent from this historical review that it is entirely erroneous. We must all suffer for the errors of our fathers. One other error we should avoid is that of making coccidioidal granuloma synonymous with coccidioidomycosis.