HEPATIC COCCIDIOSIS IN CHAMOIS (RUPICAPRA-RUPICAPRA)

Hepatic coccidiosis was present in four adult chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) that died after prolonged illness. The cause of death was not related to liver disease but to emaciation, severe anemia, and metastatic mineralization. Megaloschizonts of various sizes (up to 200 mum x 300 mum) were clearly identified within intrahepatic bile ducts and portal veins; in most cases, the specific location could not be identified. Most megaloschizonts were surrounded by an eosinophilic band of proteinaceous material and induced a mild subacute periportal hepatitis and fibrosis. Eimeria yakimoffmatschoulskyi and Eimeria suppereri oocysts were identified from the feces of one animal. The etiology for the hepatic coccidiosis could not be determined, but the coccidia may have traveled from the intestinal tract by blood or lymph, as has been suggested for other species of Eimeria.