[Coccidiosis in suckling calves raised on large farms]

In a large herd of pigs whose piglets suffered from diarrheas coprological examination revealed the great incidence of Isospora suis coccidia in piglets. The first oocysts were found out in seven-day piglets; the highest incidence was observed in twelve-day piglets (65.9%); the time of oocyst elimination (patency) was five to six days. The oocysts appeared in the excrements of piglets two to three days after the diarrhea onset. Individual examinations of piglets demonstrated the correlation between the intensity of clinical signs and the numbers of eliminated oocysts. No oocysts of I. suis were found either in sow excrements or gilt excrements. The I. suis oocysts were diagnosed in the excrements of piglets from first-farrowing sows and in the excrements of piglets from the sows, in the litters of which I. suis had already been demonstrated. Evaluating the therapeutic and preventive effects of the anticoccidic drug amprolium no significant difference was recorded in the I. suis incidence between the medicated group and the control group.