Morphological and molecular identification of common Eimeria species in sheep and goats of Bajestan area, Khorasan Razavi Province

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Mohammad Abdollahi ¹

Asma Keyvanlou ¹

Gholamreza Razmi ²

¹ Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

² Ferdowsi University of Mashad

10.22067/ijvst.2026.94932.1590

Abstract

Coccidiosis is a gastrointestinal disease caused by Eimeria spp in small ruminants. Limited information is available regarding the identified Eimeria species in sheep flocks in Khorasan Razavi Province. The present study aimed to identify the common Eimeria species and detect the pathogenic species in sheep and goats flocks in the Bajestan area. Between September 2021 to June 2022, a total of 400 fecal samples were collected from the rectum of sheep and goats. Samples initially were examined using the Willis method for the presence of Eimeria infestation, and then the Oocyst per gram (OPG) OPG level was determined using the Clayton Lane method. Samples with high OPG values were cultured in a 2.5% potassium dichromate solution. After the sporulation of the cultured sample, the Eimeria species was identified by the morphological characteristics. Additionally, the DNA of sporulated Eimeria oocysts from sheep and goats was extracted and tested using the PCR method. Two positive samples of each of these animals were selected and submitted for sequencing. In the present study, the prevalence of Eimeria spp infection was 69.5% (139/200) in sheep and 69% (138/200) in goats. In morphological studies, Eimeria faurei and Eimeria ovinoidalis were identified in sheep, and Eimeria alijevi, Eimeria hirci, and Eimeria christenseni were identified in goats. PCR amplification confirmed the presence of Eimeria spp in positive samples. The findings indicate a high prevalence of mixed Eimeria spp. infection in sheep and goats in the Bajestan area. In addition, two Eimeria species in sheep and three species in goats were morphologically identified.

Keywords

Prevalence, Identification, Eimeria

goat, sheep

Subjects

• Parasitology

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