The pathogenic effects of Eimeria necatrix: a comparison of single and repeated infections
Michael, E.; Hodges, R.D.
Veterinary Record 91(11): 258-262
1972
ISSN/ISBN: 0042-4900 PMID: 4538770 Document Number: 53098
Sporulated oocysts were administered to six-week-old chicks either in a single dose of 20000 or in repeated doses of 5000 oocysts for four consecutive days. With both infections typical lesions of severe haemorrhagic enteritis were apparent to the jejunal area down to the yolk stalk, with scattered petechial haemorrhages and small white circular colonies of schizonts being present in the duodenal area and the area beyond the yolk stalk. Anorexia and morbidity were pronounced in both infections, but mortality (10%) occurred only with the single infection. The depression of feed intake and bodyweight during the repeated infection extended over a longer period but was not so pronounced as in the single infection. Anorexia induced by the disease was not the only factor responsible for the bodyweight loss. Normal uninfected birds starved to the same extent as the infected birds did not lose as much weight, which indicates that feed intake was not the only factor responsible for the reduced bodyweight.