Vet World   Vol.16   July-2023  Article-15

First report on the molecular prevalence and associated risk factors of Eimeria spp. in dairy cattle in Khon Kaen, Thailand

Background and Aim: Bovine coccidiosis, caused by the protozoa Eimeria, is an important parasitic cattle disease that affects animal health and has economic impact worldwide. This study was conducted to report the first molecular prevalence and genetic diversity of Eimeria spp. in dairy cattle in Khon Kaen province, Thailand, and to identify the risk factors associated with Eimeria spp. infection.

Materials and Methods: From July 2020 to October 2021, 296 fecal samples were collected from dairy cattle divided into three age groups, including <3-month-old calves, 3-month-old to 1-year-old calves, and >1-year-old cattle. Eimeria spp. were identified by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplifying 18S RNA gene and confirmed by DNA sequencing. Information regarding all associated risk factors was collected using questionnaires and analyzed using logistic regression tests in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences program.

Results: Polymerase chain reaction results showed that 104 (35.13%) of 296 samples were positive for Eimeria spp. The <3-month-old calves (46.51%) had the highest infection rate. Moreover, multiplex PCR identified five species of Eimeria, namely, Eimeria bovis (32.69%), Eimeria zuernii (18.26%), Eimeria alabamensis (5.76%), Eimeria ellipsoidalis (3.84%), and Eimeria cylindrica (2.88%). An association was observed between risk factors and Eimeria spp. incidence (p < 0.05). DNA sequencing revealed the similarity of each Eimeria spp. with 91%–100% nucleotide identity. Phylogenetic tree analysis demonstrated the close relationships of clusters of E. bovis and E. zuernii, E. ellipsoidalis, and E. cylindrica and another cluster of E. alabamensis.

Conclusion: The results confirm that Eimeria spp. are commonly found in dairy cattle, especially calves. The molecular test could be powerful for species identification. This study also provides epidemiological information for developing future strategies to control bovine coccidiosis. Keywords: bovine coccidiosis, dairy cattle, Eimeria spp., molecular prevalence, multiplex polymerase chain reaction, Thailand.

Keywords: bovine coccidiosis, dairy cattle, Eimeria spp., molecular prevalence, multiplex polymerase chain reaction, Thailand.

How to cite this article: Keomoungkhoun B, Arjentinia IPGY, Sangmaneedet S, and Taweenan W (2023) First report on the molecular prevalence and associated risk factors of

Received: 20-02-2023  Accepted: 09-06-2023     Published online: 19-07-2023

Corresponding author: Weerapol Taweenan   E-mail: weerapol@kku.ac.th

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2023.1489-1495

Copyright: Keomoungkhoun, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.