Investigation On Epidemiology Of Pigs' And Goats' Eperythrozoon And Its Treatment And Prevention

Investigation on aetiology, epidemiology, clinical manifestation, treatment and prevention of pigs'and goats'eperythrozoon were made based on its prevailing characteristics and a large number of clinical cases, and pigs and goats on the farm.The results showed that Eperythrozoon exited not only in blood, but also in liver, spleen, heart, lung, lymph nodes, brain, spinal cord, bone marrow, feces, testicle, epididymis, ascites, bile, cerebrospinal fluid, seminal fluid, milk, etc; there were a number of Eperythrozoons in liver, spleen, lung, milk. Eperythrozoon shaped like a ball, pole, dumbbell, ellipse, etc in blood and a ball, and roundness in the other tissues. But Eperythrozoons in different tissues had the same staining characteristics.Eperythrozoon did not die until it was in 2% iodine tincture for five to ten minutes, 3-5% cresol soap solution for 5 minutes, 3-5% carbolic acid solution for 4-6 hours. Eperythrozoons of the larger size were killed by 3% NaOH solution in eighteen to twenty four hours and 0.1% Xinjiermie solution in over twenty four hours while the smaller converged formed scale-shaped and were movable in 3% NaOH solution or 0.1% Xinjiermie solution for twenty four hours.Incidences of Eperythrozoon infection had no difference in seasons, but were higher (p<0.05) in intensive breeding animals than in the free feeding. Goat's blood with Eperythrozoonosis caused healthy goats, but not dogs and chickens, to be infected by abdominal cavity or vein inoculation artificially.The disease spread through placenta. The statistics showed that the incidence of Eperythrozoon infection in lambs was 93.9% (200/213) and in piglets 74.70% (372/498) and that the infection rate and morbidity in ewe were 100% (357/357) and 17.93% (64/357). In bad environment, morbidities of this disease in fattening pigs, sow and weaned pigs were 20.95% (22/105), 7.78% (7/90) and 28.17% (29/110), respectively. Syringe needle was an important propagating factor for the disease. In addition, climate sudden change and stress were its inducing factors. Eperythrozoonosis did not have characteristic symptoms. Most ill goats or pigs were anemic; their blood is thin and pink with bleeding spots on the skin and edema in the lip, eyelid, mandible, and four limbs etc. Some had neural symptoms. Macroscopically pathological manifestations were Mucous pale membrane, skin, hypodermis and tendon, swollen, fragile and brown-yellow liver with blood spots, full-of-bile gallbladder, swollen spleen with bleeding spots and necrosis in its outer, swollen kidney with bleeding spots, thicken bladder mucosa, pulmonary emphysema and edema, brain edema and hyperemia, shrunk and yellow jelly-like bone marrow, and increasing liquid in the body cavity. In histology liver cells were turbid, swollen and necrotic with ferroheme deposit in them. Central vein, liver sinuses and bile ducts were expanded. Spot hemorrhage was seen in the liver. Spleen was regenerated with fibre hyperplasia, deformed red blood corpuscles, reduced follicles. Interstial pneumonia was seen. In a word, the animal with Eperythrozoonosis demonstrated inflammation changes mainly with hemalysis in tissues and organs.The experiment showed that Sanyuchuxiao, 0.2 ml/kg per day, given by muscular injection for three days, was effective for treatment and prevention of goat eperythrozoonsis, and that tetracycline, orally given for treatment and supplemented to diet for prevention, was also effective , especially for prevention of infection of newborn pigs. It was more important that establish self-bred and separated-bred pigs or goats, and well regulations for prevention, sanitation, quarantine, disinfection, excrement disposal and fodder processing.