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Abstract Rabbits are very abundant, worldwide and they are raised for a variety of purposes including; production of meat and wool, used as laboratory animal, tissue cultures, toxicity tests, ophthalmologic experiments and production of antibodies. Parasitic infection is one of health problems that hinder rabbit breeding and interfering with its production especially Eimeria spp. which is considered as one of the most important diseases of rabbits. Therefore, the present study was carried out to make a spot light on some internal and external parasites infecting rabbits at Quena Governorate; including the prevalence regarding to the age, sex and breeds; morphology of the recovered parasite species, histopathological changes and the efficacy of some anticoccidial drugs. The present study showed that the overall infection rate of internal parasites infecting rabbits at Quena Governorate was 68.12 % and the most frequent species was protozoa with an infection rate of 49%, while the helminthes infection represented 5.7% of the examined samples through coprological examinations. Additionally, the mixed infection represented in 13.4% of the examined samples. Concerning the ages of examined rabbits, the obtained results revealed that young rabbits (kids) were seem to be more susceptible to the infection with internal parasites (78.8%) than the adult ones (43.3%). Moreover, female rabbits (both adult and kids) were more susceptible to the internal parasites infection than male ones where the infection rate was 73.8% and 25.7%, respectively. In respect to rabbit breeds, the present investigation concluded that the most susceptible rabbit breed to internal parasitic infections seemed to be Newzelandy with an overall prevalence of 76.2% and the least susceptible breed was Flander sp. (25%). Regarding to the monthly infection rate of different internal parasites among rabbits revealed that the highest infection rates were observed in December, January and April, where the percent of infection were 100%, 90% and 90%, respectively, while the lowest infection rate was recorded during August and October, where the infection rate reached (42.86%) and (45%) respectively. Concerning to the seasonal prevalence; the obtained results concluded that the highest infection rate was observed during winter season followed by autumn, spring where the infection rates were 83.33%, 73.33% and 64.21 %, respectively, while the lowest infection rate was recorded during summer season (57.83%). Among the Helminthes; the helminthes identified was Passalurus ambiguus in the present study. The overall prevalence of Passalurus ambiguus infection among examined rabbits via coprological examination was 5.7 %. Furthermore, the highest prevalence of infection was observed among young and male rabbits, where the infection rate was 5.8% and 8.6%, respectively. In present investigations the seasonal prevalence of P. ambiguus infection in rabbits showed that the highest prevalence was recorded during summer season followed by spring where the infection rates were 16.9%, 3.2%, respectively, while there was no infections was observed during winter and autumn seasons. Among the protozoan; the coccidia identified were Eimeria spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. in the present investigation. The present study showed that the overall prevalence of Eimeria spp. and Cryptosporidium species among examined rabbits was 33.9% and 15.1 %, respectively. Dealing with rabbit breeds, the present study revealed the most susceptible breeds to Eimeria species infection seemed to be Newzeland breed with an overall prevalence of 48.5% with low percent of infection among Rex breed (7.7%). Regarding to the age of examined rabbit, the obtained results showed that the total prevalence of Eimeria spp. among rabbit kids and adult were 47.1% and 3.3%, respectively. Dealing with the age and sex, the obtained results revealed that the prevalence of Eimeria spp. among female kids, male kids, adult female and adult male were 48.8%, 0.0%, 1.6 and 7.1 %, respectively. Furthermore, the obtained results revealed that the total prevalence of Cryptosporidium among rabbit kids and adult rabbits was 9.1 % and 28.9%, respectively. The present research showed that the high prevalence of Eimeria spp. infection was observed during winter season with an infection rate of 63.3% followed by spring and autumn seasons where the infection rates were 40% and 33.3%, respectively, while the lowest percent of infection was recorded during summer season (6%). Eight species of Eimeria were recovered from the faeces of examined rabbits based on their morphological characters and the prevalence of each species was as follow: E. perforans 96%, E. magna 92%, E. flavescens 68%, E. coecicola 32%, E. exigua 28%, E. media 20%, E. intestinalis 12%, and E. piriformis 8%. Concerning the ectoparasites in this study, the total incidence of infection was 25 %; and the most frequent species was Sarcoptes Scabiei (22.5%) and Notoedres cuniculi (2.5%). Regarding to the age of examined rabbit, the obtained results showed that the total prevalence of mite infection among rabbit kids and adult were 29.5% and 19.3%, respectively. Dealing with the age and sex, the results clarified that the prevalence of ectoparasites were high in male rabbits (both adult and kids) compared to female rabbits (both adult and kids) where the infection rates were 31.4% and 22.8%, respectively. Generally, it was established that the young ages of rabbits (kids) and the male were more susceptible to mite infection compared to adult ones and females. In respect to the treatment trials, the present work found that, the marked decrease in OPG was observed as a result of medication with all therapeutic agents used (amprolium and toltrazuril) as there was a significant decrease in the total oocyst count in comparison with the infected non treated group. Furthermore, there was a noticeable significant decrease in the total oocyst count among the treated groups with both amprolium and toltrazuril. The criteria for drug evaluation were clinical signs, oocyst counts, and mortality rate, and average feed intake, hematological and histopathological changes.In recent years, there has been increasing commercial production of rabbits as a source of protein. The consumers prefer rabbits for their low cholesterol and fat contents (Al-Husseini, 1992). Therefore, rabbit production became one of the most important animal resources in Egypt. In addition to this commercial value, these animals are used as very important models for medical research and as pets (Yousif and Abdul-Aziz, 1995). Moreover, besides their uses as laboratory animals, are used for a wide variety of commercial purposes viz. wool, meat and fur (Tripathi et al., 1995).Rabbit breeding is widespread in many parts of the world and, in particular, at some governorates of Egypt, where the most rabbit population is in the hand of smallholders, while the rest belong to commercial sector (Galal and Khalil, 1994)Like other animals, rabbits have diseases and parasites that interfere with their normal physiology which have in the past contributed to the reduction of populations, as well as, slowing the progress of rabbit farmers across the world.Parasitic infections are one of the most health problems that hamper rabbit breeding and interfering with its production.Passalurus ambiguus (Rudolphi, 1919) is a common oxyurid found in the caecum and colon of domestic, wild, and laboratory rabbits and hares (Owen, 1972; Taffs, 1976). Furthermore, it is the species most likely to be adapted to the intensive breeding farms, as its infective larvae do not leave the egg until the egg is ingested by the host (Grice and Prociv, 1993).P. ambiguus infections of rabbit are not generally thought to be very pathogenic, although very large numbers of pinworms were found in rabbits, where scouring was a problem (Ostler, 1961), and fatal massive infections in young rabbits have been recorded (Owen, 1972).Coccidiosis remains one of the most important infectious causes of digestive disorders in fattening rabbits (Vancraeynest et al., 2008Coccidiosis of rabbits are ubiquitous infections caused by obligatory intracellular protozoan parasites belonging to the genus Eimeria and considered as a major cause of significant morbidities and mortalities (Lebas et al., 1986; Wang and Tsai, 1991; Coudert et al., 1995 and Bhat et al., 1996) and seriously impairing their growth and food utilization (Abdel-Megeed et al., 2005). It mainly affects the intestine and only one species cause hepatic lesion (Eimeria stiedae).Cryptosporidium is a ubiquitous enteropathogen and has been reported from many geographical regions of the world. The parasite is recognized as one of the most common causes of diarrhea in humans and farm animals (De Graaf et al. 1999; Joachim, 2004 and Caccio, 2005Cryptosporidial infection of livestock may have an important economic impact on farmers because of high morbidity and sometimes high mortality rates among animals (Sunnotel et al., 2006).Both pet and wild rabbits are a potential source of human cryptosporidiosis and as such, good hygiene practices are recommended during and after handling rabbits or exposure to their faeces, or potentially contaminated surfaces (Robinson and Chalmers, 2010).Mange is a highly contagious skin disease, characterized by crusty, pruritic dermatitis and hair / feather loss, and caused by a variety of parasitic mites burrowing in or living on the skin. (Pence and Ueckermann, 2002).Coccidiosis is mainly controlled by prophylaxis with different anticoccidical drugs. Since the end of 2008, diclazuril is now authorized as feed additive for rabbit in France, Italy and Spain. Nevertheless, other drugs exist that are efficacious against rabbit Coccidia. Anticocidials are usually mixed in feeding pellets, but if application of some drugs, such as toltrazuril, in drinking water is possible, it may be advantageous for small rabbitries. |