IDENTIFICATION OF THE EFFECTS OF SE AND VITAMIN E DEFICIENCY ON THE SEVERITY OF COCCIDIOSIS AND CONCURRENT BOVINE VIRAL DIARRHEA AND CRYPTOSPORIDIUM INFECTIONS IN CATTLE
Open Access
- Author:
- Martin, Lindsay Christine
- Area of Honors:
- Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Jason William Brooks, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Lester C Griel Jr., Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- selenium
Vitamin E
Coccidia
Cryptosporidium
Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus - Abstract:
- Coccidiosis is an infection characterized by the excretion of watery feces that is common in young calves between the ages of 1-2 months and 1 year. The clinical disease is not usually seen within the first three weeks of life. In cattle, this disease can be caused by three different types of Eimeria species - E. zuernii, E. bovis, and E. auburnensis. Pathogenic coccidia often cause enteritis in the large intestine. However, they can damage the mucosa of the lower small intestine, colon, or cecum. This calf diarrhea, also known as calf scours, is a major cause of economic and productive loss to cattle producers worldwide. Even more, coccidia have often shown resistance to many anti-coccidial drugs. Thus, the search for new control methods is important for improvements in both agriculture and veterinary medicine. In previous studies, selenium supplementation has been shown to have some control of parasites such as E. tenella in chickens. In addition to coccidia, bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is an immunosuppressive, enteric pathogen that can cause watery diarrhea in young cattle. Another parasite, Cryptosporidium parvum is another possible etiologic agent for calf scours. The objective of this study is to examine the influence of liver mineral levels – with emphasis on selenium – on the severity of coccidiosis in calves. While this study suggests that vitamin E supplementation may be an important factor for the prevention of coccidiosis in calves, definitive relationships between coccidiosis severity and mineral levels were not established. In addition, no correlations were found between coccidosis severity and concurrent Cryptosporidium or bovine viral diarrhea virus infections. This study provides information that could be imperative to improving the prevention of coccidiosis in calves. Yet, future studies must be conducted in order to better understand these relationships.