Pathomorphological studies on parasitic enteritis in sheep

Abstract

The present study was conducted in and around Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh to study the occurrence, gross and histopathology of different parasitic enteritis in sheep. The occurrence of parasitic enteritis in sheep recorded in the study was 62.7%.  The different types of parasitic enteritis included immature amphistomiosis, schistosomosis, monieziosis, stilesiosis, trichuriosis, oesophagostomosis and coccidiosis. Grossly, in cases of immature amphistomiosis, monieziosis, stilesiosis and trichuriosis, the parasites were observed in the lumen of intestines. Schistosomosis, oesophagostomosis and coccidiosis were diagnosed on microscopic examination of the intestinal scrapings and contents that revealed ova, L4 larvae and oocysts, respectively. Nodular lesions were recorded in a few types of parasitic enteritis viz. umblicated nodular lesions in the small intestines of stilesiosis affected sheep, microscopically characterized by mucosal hyperplasia, circumscribed hard nodules in the large intestines of schistosomosis and oesophagostomosis affected cases which on histopathology were found to be egg granulomas and pseudotubercular granulomas, respectively. In cases of coccidiosis, small, greyish white nodules were observed on the intestinal mucosa, which were microscopically characterized as hyperplastic crypts and villi harbouring different stages of Eimeria spp. The present study comprehended the occurrence of different parasitic enteritis in sheep along with their gross and histopathology. This study may be useful in proposing preventive and control strategies of enteric parasitic infections in sheep reared in the study area.