Surveillance of coccidiosis in cattle in England and Wales

In 2008, 493 cattle diagnostic submissions to the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) in England and Wales were given a diagnosis of coccidiosis. These were mainly from faecal samples, and the main clinical presenting sign was diarrhoea (81%). The majority of affected animals were in either the pre- or post-weaned age groups, with post-weaned animals less likely to present with diarrhoea. A significantly greater proportion of dairy cattle than beef were present compared with the background cattle population. The spread of submissions amongst geographical regions was generally representational of the cattle population. However, a significantly larger number of coccidiosis cases than expected were identified from the Taunton and Carmarthen regions, and significantly less from Caernarfon and Cardiff. These regional differences are discussed in light of regional cattle demographics and other factors that might influence submission of samples to a Regional Laboratory. The temporal patterns of coccidiosis submissions from 1999-2008 were described and a statistically significant decline in coccidiosis diagnoses per month was detected, as well as a trend towards higher diagnoses rates in the summer and autumn months. Although the results are based on opportunistic sampling, they do represent the best data available on cattle coccidiosis and the findings concur with results from previous studies and anecdotal summaries.