Diversity of enteric coccidia in pigs from the Paraíba Semiarid Region of Northeastern Brazil

Abstract There is great diversity in swine coccidia, which are responsible for causing intestinal disorders ranging from sporadic diarrhea to severe cases of hemorrhagic enteritis. Thus, determining the species of coccidia that affect the animals of a region and associating them with the characteristics of the farms become extremely important. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of coccidia parasites in pigs reared in a family farming production system in the Semiarid Region of the State of Paraíba, Northeast Brazil. Fecal samples for analysis were collected from 187 pigs on 51 farms. For morphological analysis, 1,590 sporulated oocysts were used. The prevalence of oocysts in fecal samples was 56.6% (106/187). The most prevalent species were Eimeria suis (21.9%), followed by Eimeria neodebliecki (16.6%), Eimeria perminuta (14.9%), Eimeria polita (12.8%), Eimeria debliecki (10.6%), Eimeria porci (10.1%), Cystoisospora suis (3.7%), Eimeria scabra (1.6%) and Eimeria cerdonis (0.5%). It can be concluded that pigs from the Semiarid Region of the State of Paraíba were parasitized by a diversity of coccidia species, mainly of the genus Eimeria, and predominantly presented with mixed infections occurring in the subclinical form.

摘要
猪球虫（swine coccidia）具有高度的物种多样性，其感染可引发多种肠道病症，从散发性腹泻到严重的出血性肠炎不等。因此，明确某一地区感染猪只的球虫种类，并将其与养殖场特征相关联，这一点极为重要。本研究旨在调查巴西东北部帕拉伊巴州半干旱地区家庭农场养殖模式下猪只感染球虫寄生虫的流行率。研究从51家养殖场的187头猪只身上采集了用于分析的粪便样本，共使用1590个孢子化卵囊开展形态学分析。粪便样本中卵囊的阳性检出率为56.6%（106/187）。检出率较高的虫种依次为：猪艾美耳球虫（Eimeria suis，21.9%）、新德布利克艾美耳球虫（Eimeria neodebliecki，16.6%）、细小艾美耳球虫（Eimeria perminuta，14.9%）、光滑艾美耳球虫（Eimeria polita，12.8%）、德布利克艾美耳球虫（Eimeria debliecki，10.6%）、波氏艾美耳球虫（Eimeria porci，10.1%）、猪等孢球虫（Cystoisospora suis，3.7%）、粗糙艾美耳球虫（Eimeria scabra，1.6%）以及森氏艾美耳球虫（Eimeria cerdonis，0.5%）。综上可知，帕拉伊巴州半干旱地区的猪只感染了多种球虫虫种，且以艾美耳属（Eimeria）虫种为主，同时大多呈现混合感染，且多为亚临床感染状态。