“Turkeys will pick up the oocysts from the feces in the bedding,” Pollock said. “Between day 0 and day 60, we want to have a coccidiostat or a vaccine. After that, they stop being susceptible.
Coccidiosis parasites endanger turkey gut health by penetrating and replicating in GI epithelial tissue, where one of five Eimeria species — E. meleagrimitis, E. adenoids, E. caecae, E. gallopavonis, and E. meleagridis — can inflict further epithelial damage in different GI tract areas. The parasites are also dangerous as pre-disposing factors for other diseases; coccidiosis can open the door to Clostridium spp. infections and may result in necrotic enteritis.
Three experiments were conducted to determine the appropriate dose level of E. gallopavonis for autogenous vaccine production to manage its highly virulent nature.
In ABF production live or autogenous vaccination, chemical coccidiostat and/or feed additive treatment — including with a phytogenic, organic acid, or probiotic— is typically the only viable way to control intestinal damage from the disease once birds are infected; cleaning facilities is critical to knock down oocyst populations when barns are vacant, but this is difficult given oocysts are tough to kill with common disinfectants.
“Turkeys will pick up the oocysts from the feces in the bedding,” Pollock said. “Between day 0 and day 60, we want to have a coccidiostat or a vaccine. After that, they stop being susceptible.
Coccidiosis parasites endanger turkey gut health by penetrating and replicating in GI epithelial tissue, where one of five Eimeria — E. meleagrimitis, E. adenoids, E. caecae, E. gallopavonis and E. meleagridis — can inflict further epithelial damage in different GI tract areas. The parasites are also dangerous as pre-disposing factors for other diseases; coccidiosis can open the door to Clostridium spp. infections and may result in necrotic enteritis.
TLDR: Vaccines are strain dependent -- one that provides immune effect against Eimeria gallopavonis may have little or no effect against E. meleagrimitis, E. adenoids, E. caecae, or E. meleagridis, the other main turkey coccidiosis strains.
The full paper, titled "Assessment of Eimeria gallopavonis dose for vaccination strategies in turkeys" can be found in Applied Poultry Research and online here.
DOI: 10.1016/j.japr.2025.100533
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