• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.152-157
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• 1995

A total of 1050 layer and broiler chickens from 63 flocks of 21 poultry farms in South-Kyeonggi area, aged from 1 to 18 weeks, were investigated for the prevalence of Cryptosporidium baileyi infection from May 1992 to March 1993. The results have shown that 44 chickens(4.19%) were infected with C.(baileyi during the period of investigation) Fecal samples were treated by using Sheather's flotating technique and were examined under the light and phase contrast microscopy and then stained by Kinyoun method. Cryptosporidium oocysts were found in 35 out of 650 broilers(5.4%) and 9 out of 400 layer chickens(2.3%) aged mainly from 2 to 12 weeks. The regional infection rate were 4.7% in Pyeong-taek, 5.1% in An-sung and 2.3% in Yong-in, respectively. The average size of isolated oocyst was about $5.23{\times}4.92{\mu}m$ and the oocysts were orally inoculated into 2-day-old SPF chickens for the histological examination of oocyst in bursa of Fabricius. The study has concluded that C. baileyi infects chickens and oocysts were isolated in South-Kyeonggi area.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.317-319
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• 2014

The oocyst wall is severed by means of mechanical injury or chemical agents. This study reports the percentage of in vitro sporocyst release following mechanical shaking in the presence of varying sizes of glass beads. Glass beads measured 0.5, 1, and 3 mm in diameter and were shaken with the oocysts for different times ranging from 5 sec to 5 min. Approximately 80% of sporocysts were released with 5 min of shaking in the presence of 3 mm glass beads, as well as 30 sec with 0.5 mm beads and 1 mm glass beads. The release of sporocysts of E. tenella was most efficient using 1 mm glass beads and treatment times of 30 sec to 1 min. Therefore, the use of 1 mm glass beads with 30 sec to 1 min of agitation is recommended in order to maximize sporocyst release and recovery and to improve the yield of viable sporozoites for use in biochemical, tissue culture, and immunological applications of coccidia.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.353-357
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• 2009

Cryptosporidium can cause gastrointestinal diseases worldwide, consequently posing public health problems and economic burden. Effective techniques for detecting contaminated oocysts in water are important to prevent and control the contamination. Immunomagnetic separation (IMS) method has been widely employed recently due to its efficiency, but, it is costly. Sucrose floatation technique is generally used for separating organisms by using their different specific gravity. It is effective and cheap but time consuming as well as requiring highly skilled personnel. Water turbidity and parasite load in water sample are additional factors affecting to the recovery rate of those 2 methods. We compared the efficiency of IMS and sucrose floatation methods to recover the spiked Cryptosporidium oocysts in various turbidity water samples. Cryptosporidium oocysts concentration at 1, $10^1$, $10^2$, and $10^3$ per $10{\mu}l$ were spiked into 3 sets of 10 ml-water turbidity (5, 50, and 500 NTU). The recovery rate of the 2 methods was not different. Oocyst load at the concentration < $10^2$ per 10 ml yielded unreliable results. Water turbidity at 500 NTU decreased the recovery rate of both techniques. The combination of sucrose floatation and immunofluorescense assay techniques (SF-FA) showed higher recovery rate than IMS and immunofluorescense assay (IMS-FA). We used this SF-FA to detect Cryptosporidium and Giardia from the river water samples and found 9 and 19 out of 30 (30% and 63.3%) positive, respectively. Our results favored sucrose floatation technique enhanced with immunofluorescense assay for detecting contaminated protozoa in water samples in general laboratories and in the real practical setting.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.450-454
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• 1998

Four groups each containing 48 seven-day-old broiler chicks were reared for 7 weeks during winter on rice husk litter spread to depths of 20, 30, 40 or 50 mm. Broiler performance was evaluated in terms of weight gain, feed consumption, feed efficiency and production number. Litter dampness was determined and coccidial oocyst populations were counted at different weeks of age. The depth of litter did not significantly affect live weight gain, feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, liveability or production number. Variation in moisture contents of litter was observed but the coccidial oocysts count per gramme of litter was within the safety level and therefore, there was no outbreak of coccidiosis in any group. Use of rice husk litter at different depths (20 to 50 mm) did not cause any breast blisters or leg abnormalities. It was concluded that rice husk can be used as litter at depths of between 20 and 50 mm during winter to raise broilers without affecting performance characteristics and health of birds.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.33-37
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• 1999

An age-dependent aspect of resistance to Cryptosporidium muris (strain MCR) infection was monitored in Syrian golden hamsters. Mesocricetus auratus. at 1-, 5- and 10-week of age and in ICR mice, Mus musculus, at 3-, 12-, and 15-week of age orally inoculated with a single dose of $2{\times}10^6$ oocysts. respectively. The prepatent periods for both animals were similar, independent of age, but the patency was significantly longer in younger hamsters (P<0.001) and a long tendency in younger mice. Hamsters infected at 1-week of age excreted about 10 times higher oocysts than those at 5- and 10-week of age. However, the total oocyst output was similar among mice of different ages. There was a good correlation between the length of the patency and the total oocyst output in hamsters (R=0.9646), but not in mice (R=0.456l). The immunogenicity of the parasite to homologous challenge infections was very strong in hamsters and relatively strong in mice. These results indicate that acquired resistance to C. muris infection is age-related and the innate resistance is independent of age of hamsters, and that both innate and acquired resistance, on the contrary, are irrespective of age of mice.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.249-252
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• 2011

Cell culture systems for the protozoan Eimeria are not yet available. The present study was conducted to develop an animal model system by inoculating animals with a live Eimeria vaccine. This study was conducted on 3-day-old chickens (n = 20) pretreated with cyclophosphamide. The chickens were divided into 2 groups: the control group (n = 10) and the inoculated group that received the live Eimeria vaccine (n = 10). During the study period, we compared the clinical signs, changes in body weight, and number of oocysts shed in the feces of the control and inoculated group. This study showed that oocyst shedding was significantly higher in the chickens inoculated with live Eimeria oocysts than in the control chickens. Moreover, body weight gain was lesser in the animals in the inoculated group than in the control animals. Fecal oocyst shedding was observed in the inoculated animals. On the basis of these findings, we suggest that live Eimeria vaccination with cyclophosphamide pretreatment may be used to obtain an effective animal model for studying protozoan infections. This animal study model may eliminate the need for a tedious continuous animal inoculation process every 6 months because the live coccidiosis vaccine contains live oocysts.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.129-132
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• 1998

Avian coccidiosis is a very important disease of poultry industry. In recent years, many researchers studied for the immunology of avian coccidiosis. Coccidial vaccines have been used at some poultry farms in many countries. In order to evaluate the anticoccidial effects of coccidial vaccine to chicken treated with anticoccidial drugs, 4 week-old chicken were administered anticoccidial drugs and challenged with avian coccidia at 2 weeks after vaccination of coccidia. The body weight gains, lesion scores, oocyst indices and anticoccidial indices of chicken were investigated at the time of vaccination, challenge and necropsy. The body weight gains and feed conversion rates of groups immunized with coccidial vaccine and treated with anticoccidial drugs were moderately higher and lower than those of groups treated with anticoccidial drugs, respectively. The lesion score and oocyst indices of all groups immunized with coccidial vaccine and/or treated with anticoccidial drugs were milder than those of infected control groups. The anticoccidial indices of groups immunized with coccidial vaccine and treated with anticoccidial drugs were moderately higher and lower than those of groups. treated with anticoccidial drugs. But all of the investigated items were not statistically significant.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.299-302
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• 2011

During experimental Eimeria infections in chickens, facilities are often contaminated by fecal oocysts known to be highly resistant to both chemical and enzymatic treatments. Thus, studies using experimental Eimeria infections have been limited due to the difficulty of complete elimination of residual oocysts from both cages and facilities. To overcome this limitation, simple, inexpensive, and disposable cages were constructed from cardboard boxes and tested during experimental Eimeria maxima infections. The cages were used in animal rooms with only a 1.7% evidence of coccidia contamination between adjacent cages. No significant differences in fecal oocyst output and body weight gain were noted between animals housed in disposable cages and animals housed in wire control cages. This cage design is a useful means for preventing oocyst contamination during experimental conditions, suggesting that this disposable cage design could be used for other avian infectious disease studies.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.59 no.4
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• pp.403-408
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• 2021

Avian coccidiosis has a major economic impact on the poultry industry, it is caused by 7 species of Eimeria, and has been primarily controlled using chemotherapeutic agents. Due to the emergence of drug-resistant strains, alternative control strategies are needed. We assessed anticoccidial effects of berberine-based diets in broiler chickens following oral infection with 5 Eimeria species (E. acervulina, E. maxima, E. tenella, E. mitis, and E. praecox). When 0.2% berberine, a concentration that does not affect weight gain, was added to the diet, the 4 groups infected with E. acervulina, E. tenella, E. mitis, or E. praecox showed significant reductions in fecal oocyst shedding (P<0.05) compared to their respective infected and untreated controls. In chickens treated 0.5% berberine instead of 0.2% and infected with E. maxima, fecal oocyst production was significantly reduced, but body weight deceased, indicating that berberine treatment was not useful for E. maxima infection. Taken together, these results illustrate the applicability of berberine for prophylactic use to control most Eimeria infections except E. maxima. Further studies on the mechanisms underlying the differences in anticoccidial susceptibility to berberine, particularly E. maxima, are remained.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.315-324
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• 1991

Each of SPF chicken(Hi-Line strain, 2-day-old males) was inoculated with 2.5 or $5\times10^4$ oocysts by stomach tube. The oocyst was the medium type of Cryptosporidium previously isolated from Korean chicken origin, and passed in 2-day-old SPF chicken. The patterns of oocyst discharge were monitored daily, and in order to observe the ultrastructure of the developmental stages, the bursa of Fabricius of the chicken was examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) on the 12th day postinoculation. The prepatent period for 8 chicken was 5.9 days postinoculation on the average, and the patent period was 12.9 days. The number of oocysts discharged per day for the chicken was reached peak on day 12 postinoculation on the average. A large number of oocysts was found in fecal samples obtained from inoculated chicken on days 8~14 postinoculation. The ultrastructural feature of almost every developmental stage of the medium type from chicken was very similar to that of Cryptosporidium previously isolated from mammalia including human and birds except for the attachment site of C. tsuris to the mucus cell from mammalia, but dimension of the oocysts from fecal samples of the medium type was different from those of C. meleagridis and mammalia origin. The above results reveal that the medium type of Cryptosporidium of Korean chicken origin is identified as Cryptosporidium baileyi.