ABSTRACT
Goat coccidiosis is a cosmopolitan disease, but with special relevance in semiarid geographical areas that depend economically on goat production, such as the Mediterranean basin, North Africa, and certain regions of Asia or Latin America, where Eimeria infections may affect animal health and thus the profitability of goat production. Coccidiosis is one of the most ubiquitous and widespread enteric diseases in goat production systems. The initial infection usually occurs in the first weeks of life, when goat kids ingest oocysts attached to the udders of their dams but generally acquire low numbers to trigger clinical signs. Several immunocompetent cells have been found within the mucosa of goat kids experimentally infected with Eimeria ninakohlyakimovae, including polymorphonuclear cells, mast cells, eosinophils, globular leukocytes, and lymphocytes. Isolated cases of biliary-hepatic coccidiosis associated with unknown Eimeria-like parasites have been reported in goats from different areas.
