Clinical Signs and Diagnosis of Bovine Coccidiosis
No CommentsClinical signs of coccidiosis in cattle would be those signs that are visible to the cattleman. The majority of coccidiosis in cattle is sub clinical therefore clinical signs are not visible. Sub clinical signs would be decreased performance such as decreased weight gain, and more susceptibility to other diseases such as bovine respiratory disease. Clinical signs that would be visible on bovine coccidiosis would be loose stools; soiled, dark, dirty, stained rear ends; diarrhea that may at times have blood in it; normal stools that have flecks of blood in it; straining; rectal prolapses; rough hair coat; weight loss; neurological signs that might indicate nervous coccidiosis, and even death.
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- Flecks of blood in stool sample which can be indicative of coccidiosis.
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- Straining due to coccidiosis, resulting in a rectal prolapsed
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- Calf shows signs of dark diarrhea, tail extended indicates straining.
Nervous coccidiosis is a condition in which the oocysts become aberrant and migrate away from the intestinal tract and end up in the spinal cord of the calf. The neurological signs that would be observed would be dependent upon what area of the spinal cord was invaded. Treatment of bovine nervous coccidiosis is not very successful. The good thing is this condition can be prevented by having your cattle on a coccidiosis control program.
Diagnosis of bovine coccidiosis may be made by the clinical signs that are listed above, along with the finding of the oocysts in the feces or in the lining of the intestine of a calf that may have died. A microscopic examination must be made of the feces or the lining of the intestine to find the oocysts. The oocysts are not visible without a microscopic examination.
Cattle, Diagnosis and Clinical Signs
