Eimeria Oocysts and Passalurus ambiguus Infection of Farmed Rabbits Depending on the Age
Eimeria Oocysts and Passalurus ambiguus Infection of Farmed Rabbits Depending on the Age
Csongor Demeter1, Zoltán Német2, Zsolt Gerencsér1, Róbert Juráskó1, András Mayer1, Boróka Bárdos1*, Anett Demeter-Jeremiás3, Erika Lencsés-Varga4, Zsolt Matics4
ABSTRACT
The aim of the study was to investigate the Eimeria spp. and Passalurus ambiguus infections of rabbits by day of life. From 2018 to 2024, pooled faecal samples were collected from 29 Hungarian and 2 Slovakian rabbit farms. Low level of Eimeria oocysts infection was observed during lactation. In the week following the weaning the proportion of positive samples increased. Between day 43 and slaughter age, the proportion of positive samples was consistently high. The average OPG values (number of Eimeria oocysts per gram faeces), never reached 5,000 during the lactation period, but a critical period started at 42 days of age, with average OPG values above 10,000 in several cases. High number of oocysts were observed until the end of fattening period. The exponential smoothing model estimated the onset of Eimeria infection at 38-40 days of age (p=0.023). The proportion of P. ambiguus eggs positive samples reached 50% already in the lactation period. From day 29 to slaughter age, a relatively low rate of infected samples was detected. For P. ambiguus, the model estimated 7 days of age as the increase (p=0.001) of infection. It can be concluded that P. ambiguus eggs and Eimeria oocysts can be detected in the faeces of rabbits during their whole life cycle. During the fattening period (5-11 weeks of age), the Eimeria infection is on high level while the P. ambiguus infection is in low level.
Keywords | Rabbit farming, Eimeria infection, Passalurus ambiguus infection, Coccidiosis, Pinworm, Age-dependent
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