Efficacy of immunization compared to an anticoccidial drug combination in the management of challenged coccidiosis in Japanese quail

Differential diagnosis of Eimeria species in farmed Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica)

“…Studies starting from single oocyst isolations from Japanese quails are still very few, mostly dated, and concern the pathogenicity ( Tsutsumi and Tsunoda, 1972 ; Ruff et al, 1984 ), histopathology ( Rao et al, 1990 ), the efficacy of immunization ( Elmorsy et al, 2021 ), the description of endogenous phases of the cycle ( Tsunoda and Muraki, 1971 ), and the morphological and morphometric identification of Eimeria species ( Tsutsumi, 1972 ; Berto et al, 2013 ). Hence, there is still a need for further studies starting from pure strains of Eimeria species isolated from mixed field samples, according to more recent procedures ( Khalafalla and Daugschies, 2010 ; Yim et al, 2011 ), in order to achieve reliable identifications of Eimeria species affecting Japanese quails, both by traditional and molecular approaches.…”

“…In intensive farming, coccidiosis is considered a hamper in the poultry husbandry for both meat and layers, but also in rustic breeding systems with consequent important losses in productivity and welfare ( Blake et al, 2020 ). Different Eimeria species damage intestinal cells by interfering with the digestion and absorption of the nutrients, generating a species-specific inflammatory disease with enterocyte necrosis, able to cause high levels of mortality in young animals ( Elmorsy et al, 2021 ).…”

“…The wild nature of quails makes them more disease-resilient compared to poultry ( Cheng et al, 2010 ), but factors such as stocking density, inadequate hygiene conditions, and management failures can contribute to high environmental contamination with mature oocysts. Therefore, coccidiosis is a major economic threat in the commercial quail industry also ( Ruff et al, 1984 ; Elmorsy et al, 2021 ). Regrettably, scarce pieces of knowledge are still available concerning the parasites of Japanese quails caused by diverse Eimeria species, which are characterized by different genetic and phenotypic features ( Arafat and Abbas, 2018 ).…”

Efficacy of Immunization of Japanese Quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) Against the Challenge with Different Eimeria Species

“…On days 4, 5, 6 and 7 post-challenge, 3 birds from each group were sacrificed to examine intestines and ceca for lesion scores. The severity of lesions was evaluated according to Elmorsy et al (2021).…”