Attempted Cross‐Transmission of Coccidia Between Sheep and Goats and Description of Eimeria ovinoidalis sp. n.

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Attempted infection of 2 young lambs with oocysts of E. christenseni from a goat was unsuccessful. Negative results were obtained when young kids were fed oocysts of E. ninakohlyakimovae from sheep. There was no difficulty in infecting lambs with the sheep coccidium resembling E. ninakohlyakimovae nor goats with the goat coccidium E. christenseni. Oocysts from the goat measured 38.4 .times. 26.7 .mu.m, but were easily distinguished from E. ahsata from the sheep by sporocyst size and shape, and from E. ovina by oocyst size. E. ninakohlyakimovae-like oocysts from sheep averaged 23.0 .times. 18.2 .mu.m and were morphologically indistinguishable from previously reported goat coccidia. Since no cross infections of sheep and goats could be accomplished with oocysts of Eimeria sp. characteristic of 1 or the other coccidia and therefore constitute a separate species. Since the name E. ninakohlyakimovae was 1st used for coccidia from the goat, the sheep coccidium is renamed E. ovinoidalis with oocyst structure and endogenous stages similar to those previously described from the sheep.