[The incidence of coccidia of the genus Cryptosporidium (Cryptosporidiidae) in diarrheal diseases in calves].

In the period from March 1983 to June 1984, the occurrence of Cryptosporidium sp. coccidia in smears of gut contents and samples of excrements stained after Heine (1982) was investigated in calves at the age of 30 days, coming from 16 farms of central Bohemia. The oocysts of Cryptosporidium sp. were diagnosed in 68 calves (occurrence extensity 37.15%) out of the 183 dissected calves with the indication of digestion disorders and in 177 samples of excrements (extensity 33.71%) out of the 525 samples examined. The maximum occurrence of cryptosporidia was recorded in ten- and fourteen-day-old calves (13.9-11.3%); the first findings were reported on the third day of the age of the calves. The intensity of infections induced by cryptosporidia, evaluated as medium-strong, was reported in 33.82% of the dissected calves, in 50% of the samples of excrements of the rearing halls of large cow-houses, and in 36.52% of the samples from large calf-houses. The largest findings of cryptosporidia were associated with the diagnosis of acute catarrhal enteritis (12.02%), catarrhal haemorrhagic enteritis or catarrhal haemorrhagic ileitis (5.46%); however, they were also found when the finding in the digestive tract was negative. Simultaneous bacteriological finding of Escherichia coli and Cryptosporidium sp. occurred at acute catarrhal enteritis (19.12%) and catarrhal haemorrhagic enteritis (11.47%); a simultaneous finding of Salmonella sp. was reported in calves suffering from acute catarrhal enteritis (3.27%). In the calves the occurrence of cryptosporidia was not accompanied by parallel bacteriological findings (4.37%).