Outbreak of Eimeria stiedae infection in a rabbit farm in Kwangju

광주지역에서 발생한 토끼 Eimeria stiedae 감염증

A rabbit farm reared about 500 New Zealand White in Kwangju city was occurred Eimeria stiedae infection. Morbidity and cumulative mortality were more than 39% and 14%, respectively, from May, 1997 to March, 1998. Most of cases with severe diarrhea were belong to younger than 2-month old. In necrospy, there were multifocally white nodules with about 1-5mm in diameter on the liver surface and dark greenish mucous exudate in intestinal lumen. Main microscopic lesions included marked hyperplasia of the bile duct epitheilia containing different developmental stages of Eimeria stiedae and inflammatory cell infiltration, and the degeneration of small intestinal epithelia. Many oocysts of Eimeria stiedae were detected in the intestinal contents and epithelia, the feces, the bile juice, the bile duct and the liver.