Epidemiology of Eimeria infections in calves in Addis Ababa and Debre Zeit dairy farms, Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was carried out to determine the prevalence, species composition, and associated risk factors with Eimeria infection in calves of 40 dairy farms in Addis Ababa city and Debre Zeit town. Of the total 580 calves examined for Eimeria infection, 68.1% (395) were infected with 1 or more Eimeria species. A total of 11 species of Eimeria were identified. The most prevalent was E bovis found in 38.45% of the examined samples. The other species found were E zurnii (18.1%), E auburnensis (17.9%), E canadensis (16.9%), E ellipsoidalis (11.2%), E subspherica (6.7%), E cylindrica (6.4%), E alabamensis (4.7%), E wyomingensis (4.3%), E bitkidnonensis (3.1%), and E brasilensis (1.2%). Eimeria oocysts were detected in calves from 15 to 345 days of age. There were no statistically significant (P > 0.05) associations between infection by Eimeria and the presence of diarrhea in examined calves. Agro-ecology and age of the study calves were observed as the most important factors associated with occurrence of Eimeria infections in calves. There was strong association (P < 0.001) between the intensity of infection, age of the calves, and consistency of the feces. The observation of pathogenic species of Eimeria (E bovis and E zurnii) in calves in this study suggests that coccidiosis may be contributing to the enteric syndromes affecting calves of the area.