[Natural infection with species of the genus Eimeria in small ruminant raised in two municipalities of the State Rio de Janeiro].

In order to identify Eimerian species, verify their frequencies and intensity of infection, besides the dynamics of environmental contamination by oocysts during two years, fecal samples were collected from Alpine goats and their cross-breeding and Santa Inês sheep, raised separated in Mountainous Region of the State of Rio de Janeiro. A centrifuge-flotation method was used to obtain the number of oocysts per gram of feces (OoPG). Nine species of Eimeria were identified in goats and ten in sheep. In both species of hosts, the infection intensity, was low in adults and proportionally high in kids and lambs. The frequencies varied among the species and the most frequent in sheep was E. ovinoidalis and the correlated species E. ninakohlyakimovae presented the major frequency in goats, except in kids. The natural infection was common, probably maintained by adults and also by favourable environmental conditions to dissemination and maintenance of oocysts.