Prevention and Treatment Methods for Bovine Coccidiosis in Dairy Cattle Farming

Bovine coccidiosis is a parasitic disease caused by several species of coccidia of the genus Eimeria parasitizing the intestinal tract of cattle, characterized by acute enteritis, bloody dysentery, and other symptoms. Bovine coccidiosis occurs mostly in calves.

Symptoms: The incubation period is 2 to 3 weeks; in calves it generally follows an acute course, with a disease duration of 10 to 15 days. When bovine coccidia parasitize and multiply in the large intestine, the intestinal mucosal epithelium is extensively destroyed and sloughed off, the mucosa hemorrhages and ulcers form; at this point the clinical manifestations are hemorrhagic enteritis, abdominal pain, and the bloody stool often contains mucosal fragments. After about 1 week, the forestomach becomes sluggish, intestinal peristalsis increases, and diarrhea occurs, with death often resulting from excessive loss of body fluids. Chronic cases present with prolonged diarrhea and anemia, ultimately dying from extreme emaciation.

Diagnosis: When bloody dysentery and foul-smelling feces appear in calves clinically, the saturated saline flotation method can be used to examine the feces of affected calves; detection of coccidial oocysts confirms the diagnosis.

Clinically, attention should be paid to differentiating bovine coccidiosis from colibacillosis. The former often occurs in calves over 1 month old, while the latter mostly occurs in calves within a few days after birth and is accompanied by splenomegaly.

Prevention and treatment: (1) Calves and adult cattle should be raised in separate groups to prevent coccidial oocysts from contaminating the calves' feed. (2) The feces and bedding of housed cattle need to be centrally disinfected or subjected to bio-thermal composting and fermentation; during outbreaks, 1% creolin can be used to disinfect cattle sheds and feed troughs, once a week. Treatment: (1) Amprolium, at 20 to 50 mg per kg body weight, administered orally once, for 5 to 6 consecutive days. (2) Salinomycin, at 2 mg per kg body weight per day, for 7 consecutive days.