ACTA VET.BRNO,55,1986: 197-206 THE INFECTION OF CALVES BY ENDOPARASITES IN CALVING PENS AND CALF HOUSES

!I e j l: 0 v e c, J.: The III6el!.ti.01l 06 Ca.lvu by Elldopa.!lJUU:u ill Ca.lv~lIg Pen6 and Ca.l~ HOU6U. Acta Vet.Brno, 55, 1986: 197-206. Calves are infected with coccidia and helminths as early as during postparturient treataent, sucking and licking. Their mothers and the nurse cows are the source of infection. In calving pens operating for a longer period, 97.7 % of the mothers excreted coccidia, 82.8 % and 60.7 X excreted the strongly pathogenic species ~Zu~ and E. bovi6, resp., and 41.3 % excreted hel.inth ova. In calving pens and calf houses operating for several years, 42.2 % of the calves excreted coccidia: 26.9 % E. zu~, 21.7 % E. bovi6 and 2.8 % helminth eggs. The contamination was studied of the newly built houses before their opening. After housing in the new calving pen, 88.4 % of the first-calversexcreted coccidia and 16.3 % hel.inth eggs. In the new calf house, 36.4 % and 10.6 % of the calves excreted coccidia and helminth egga, respectively. Thirteen days after establishment in the new large-scale calf house, the percentage· of calves parasitized with coccidia and hel.inths was very high, 72.8 % and 17.3 %, respectively. It is fro. the calving pens and calf houses that the various specie. of endopara.itie. spread, as the environaent of the houses is very convenient for the.. The .trongly pathoaenic specie. of coccidia were found in all the hou.es under study. Coccidia are transferred especially by the weak, older calv •• which are kept in the calf hobses for a longer tiae. If the technological and hygienic rules of the "all in all. out" system of housing are observed, then the amount of the parasite. is too small to evoke clinical symptoms, thus enabling the young calves to develop their own defence mechanis... If hygiene is not observed, the amount of oocysts increases considerably, even to cause clinical coccidioses. Very frequently there are considerable losses of calves after birth and after their transfer to large-.cale calf hou.ea after weaning. Their performance of tan decrea.e. when they are transferred to calf hou.e. where they are fed on ~ At the age of three weeka to three months the calve. are parasitized with coccidia. If we consider the d.velopmental cycle of the endopara.ite., their r.productiv. capacity and the ability to becoae infective in the external environment, then it i. evident that the los.e •• ight be as.ociated al.o with the infection of the calve. a. early as in the calving pens and calf hou •••• Varioua diseaaea could thus .pread to other categories of calves, especially in large herd •• That is why we studied the transfer of the .tiological agents of paraBitoses under norma.l operation of the calving pens and calf houses. Materials and Methoda The author investigated the beginning of the infection of calve. a~ter birth.

excreted hel.inth ova.In calving pens and calf houses operating for several years, 42.2 % of the calves excreted coccidia: 26.9 % E. zu~, 21.7 % E. bovi6 and 2.8 % helminth eggs.The contamination was studied of the newly built houses before their opening.After housing in the new calving pen, 88.4 % of the first-calversexcreted coccidia and 16.3 % hel.inth eggs.In the new calf house, 36.4 % and 10.6 % of the calves excreted coccidia and helminth egga, respectively.Thirteen days after establishment in the new large-scale calf house, the percentage• of calves parasitized with coccidia and hel.inths was very high, 72.8 % and 17.3 %, respectively.
It is fro. the calving pens and calf houses that the various specie. of endopara.itie.spread, as the environaent of the houses is very convenient for the..The .trongly pathoaenic specie. of coccidia were found in all the hou.es under study.Coccidia are transferred especially by the weak, older calv •• which are kept in the calf hobses for a longer tiae.If the technological and hygienic rules of the "all in -all.out" system of housing are observed, then the amount of the parasite.is too small to evoke clinical symptoms, thus enabling the young calves to develop their own defence mechanis...If hygiene is not observed, the amount of oocysts increases considerably, even to cause clinical coccidioses.
Very frequently there are considerable losses of calves after birth and after their transfer to large-.calecalf hou.ea after weaning.Their performance of tan decrea.e. when they are transferred to calf hou.e.where they are fed on ~ At the age of three weeka to three months the calve.are parasitized with coccidia.If we consider the d.velopmental cycle of the endopara.ite., their r.productiv.capacity and the ability to becoae infective in the external environment, then it i.evident that the los.e •• ight be as.ociatedal.o with the infection of the calve.a. early as in the calving pens and calf hou •••• Varioua diseaaea could thus .pread to other categories of calves, especially in large herd •• That is why we studied the transfer of the .tiologicalagents of paraBitoses under norma.loperation of the calving pens and calf houses.

Materials and Methoda
The author investigated the beginning of the infection of calve.a~ter birth.In young calves, usually no fecal examinations are carried out because the excretion of coccidia oocysts begins 6 to 22 days after infection (the prepatent period is yet uncertain in some species).Helminth ova and larvae are excreted later still.Many authors observed the transit of parasites through the alimentary tract of specific hosts.Mac k 0 (1979. 1980) e.g.found that a conSiderable amount of infective helminth egga and larvae psss through the alimentary tract of specific hosts.B e j !0 vee (1983) observed a tran~it of coccidia oocysta in calve. in the prepatent period after birth.In the very young calves; food passes through the alimentary tract relatively quickly.That is why the calves were examined copro1ogica1ly beginning fro. the age of 20 hours.The qualitative flotation method after Breza (1957) was used as it is very effective and the quantitative method after Bra z a and ~ v arc (1967).More time was devoted to the examinations than to common.routine diagnosio.
In the new calving pen and new calf house recently put into operation.43 mothers and 66 calve.were examined.After introduction into the new large-scale calf hou.e.81 calve.were examined.In calving pens and calf houses which had been in operation for a longer time.600 mothers.200 nurse cows snd 1 468 calves were examined.

Results
Calves begin to excrete coccidia from the first day of their life.At the age of one day.EimtiLUt zue.ttnU...; ..; ..; ..; ..; ..;   Further increase of the extensity and intensity of coccidial infections appeared after the age of 20 days.The increasing infection rates from the first day of life can be seen from the curves in Fig. 1 and the upper lines of Tab. 1.
After the prepatent period, the extensity of the infection with E. zueII.ILU and E. e1Li.p6o-id0.ti6 .expressively increased from the 3rd day of life.The extent of the infection with other coccidia species after the prepatent period did not increase significantly.
The new buildings were compared with calving pens and calf houses used for a longer time.After introduction into the new calving pen, 88.4 % and 16.3 % of the first-calvers excreted coccidia oocysts and helminth eggs, respectively.In the new calf house, 36.4 % and 10.6 % of the calves excreted coccidia and he!.minths, respectively.Thirteen day•.after introduction into the new large-scale calf house, 7Z.8 % and 17.3 % of the calves were parasitized with coccidia and helminths, respectively.Tab 2. shows the species and number of parasites.The species composition of the parasites shows the whole spectrum of endoparasites tran.ferred as early as during the introduction of the animals into the new buildings.The strongly pathogenic coccidia species were brought into all new buildings.
Observations of the animals under study showed that the parasitisms were transferred during the time when the calves sucked under their mothers or nurse cows ,when they licked and sucked each other, and the walls, pens, stall .partitions, pipelines, central heating body, and other objects.The calves housed in the boxes together with mothers were exposed to coccidia and helminths most heavily.Calves housed individually in pens and in separate stanchion pens were found to excrete oocysts sporadically.
Also in the calving pens and calf houses used for a longer time, the majority of calves was not exposed to mass infestations and ingested only smaller amounts of parasites.The numbers given in the last line of Tab. 2 indicate that a great propagation of coccidia occurs in calves transferred into the newly built large-scale calf house.Calves infected in the calving pens and calf houses could be the source of heavy contamination of large-scale calf houses.

Discussion
As early as in 1964, when there were only a few large-scale calf houses in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, C h r 0 u s t (1964) warned that c6ccidiosis usually begins in one or a few calves.Light infections are not noticed and the calves become dangerous sources of coccidia.Ham m 0 n d (1964) drew attention to the fact that coccidiosis in cattle can be gradually caused by a single oocyst.The reproductive potential of EUflvUo.zueJUt.U is 1 : 14000 and of E. bov,u it is 1 : 250 000 (F u c h s 1983).From the epizootiological point of view, smaller amounts of parasites should also be taken into account because they are able to reproduce rapidly especially in large-scale houses.
5 van b a e v (1967) found coccidia oocysts on the udders of cows.Z a j Ie e k et al. (1977) examined heifers and pregnant cows from 25 farms of the supply region of the calf house and on the basis of oocyst findings they reported that: "From the etiological point of view it is necessary to take into account the transfer of coccidia by calves from their maternal houses."Our findings in calves soon after birth fully confirm these opinions.Z a j lee k (1982) draws attention to the fact that at the present time the problem of clinical diseases caused by coccidiosis is coming to the fore in large-scale calf houses; in some districts in Bohemia, as many as 0.14 -15.12 % of calves from the housing suffered from coccidiosis, 5 -100 % of which died.The species E. zUeJln-U and E. bov,u were found to predominate in large-scale calf houses of the industrial type.Both species, found most frequently by Z a j lee k (1982) in the large-scale calf houses, were the most frequently found in calving pens and calf houses in the present study.E. bov,u oocysts sporUlate 2 -3 days, those of E. zueJUt.U 3 -4 days.In the modern large-scale buildings they become infective very quickly.P a v I a s e k (1982) examined 380 dairy cows on 11 farms from which the calves were transferred into a new central calf house, and he found coccidia in all these farms.In the newly opened large-scale calf house, the calves of the first housin g shed coccidia oocysts in the third week after transfer, calves of the 4th housing already in the first week.It was found that the longer the operation of the calf house, the shorter the period of a 100 % infection of the calves.5 t e i' nb a c h (1982) diagnosed clinical coccidiosis in new calf houses 4 months after the houses where calves were fed on starters were fully occupied; he considered the source. of coccidiosis to be the region from which the calves wert) transferred.1983) studied the effect of different housing of the calves after birth on the occurrence of CJr.yptilllpoltULiwn sp.They found these coccidia in all the housing types in all the calve" but no significant effect of the system of housing on the occurrence of CJr.yptollpofLicLi.ulllinfections was proved.
S tel n et al. ( 1983) found 5 mUlion CJr.yptOllPOItULiwn sp.oocysts in 1 g of calf faeces as early as on the first day of the patent period.In the naturally infected calves they found as many as 74 million oocysts In 1 ml of faeces.F I s c her (1984) reported that: n ... it is true that coccidia of the genus CJr.yptilllpofLicLi.ulllare very frequent in calves, especially from the 5th tUl 30th day of life, but are not expressively manifested In large-scale houses because most of the infections die out with the increasing age of the calves.n Men ii i k et al.Men Ii i k et al. (1984), as well as other authors, report that the diseases occuring In the course of intensive calf rearing are, as a rule, due t::. the co-action of many microorganisms.From the present results it is evident that calves are parasitized as early as in the calving pens and calf houses.
Calves In which the parasites were found, frequently licked the surrounding objects and other calves.Various authors (e.g.H I n t n a u s 1978) drew attention to the fact that mutual licking of calves is a mass phenomenon in large-scale herds due to the fact that calves were taken away from their mothers very early and given artificial feed.V l! f i ii and N a v r , til (198Z) observed that the, calves start licking each other from the first day of life, from the third day they begin to suck each others ears, umbilical stump and genitalia.This mutual licking and sucking was found to become more frequent in calves placed into a common pen after birth.In calves housed in byres with stanchions and in groups, as well as in calves housed in individual pens, the frequency of licking increased with age.Calves suffering from diarrhea licked the walls very Intensively and for a very long time (because of thirst due to dehydration).Nil 1 0 (1970) noted that oocysts in the faeces sticking to the hair coat of the cattle can sporulate due to the effect of body temperature and infect the animal licking its body surface.In the present material, from the second day of age, the number of calves excreting oocysts of E. zuVUIU and E. Iiov.i6 (see Fig. 1), very widely spread in large-scale herds, increased.It Is evident that frequent licking of various'surfaces as well as licking each other brings the infective agents into the calves' alimentary tract.
Observations of the calves examined in the present study showed that the parasites are transferred already due to insufficient cleaning of the oral cavity during post-parturition treatment and due to insufficient treatment, of the calves malnlY'5durlng night parturitions.on Sundays, and when the attendants are beinll relieved.Dirty hair coat of the cows In litter-free calving pens affects the hygiene of parturition and may contaminate the environment.The work of the attendants greatly influences the transfer of parasites in calving pens and calf houses.especially when technological and hygienic rules are neit observed.In the present material.sometimes the endoparasite species of the mother did not agree with that of her own calf.but among the calv.esand other mothers in the same calving pen they did.From conforming findings of various farms it is ev.ident that large-scale buildings are contaminated with endoparasites already at the beginning of operation and that the source of infection are not only the true mothers.The present results showed that the transfer of coccidia into the alimentary tract of the animals cannot be prevented at the present time under operational conditions~ Clinical disorders are most frequently produced by a larger number of parasities that could be effectively limited when establishing "all in -all out" systems of housing.
Measures aimed at control of endoparasite transfer are similar to those aimed at prevention of bacterial and viral contamination of premises.It is a must to observe the hygiene of udder.cleanness of the vessels from which• the calves drink.to keep the floor clean and to change the litter in the boxes of the calves very regularly.Faeces should be removed especially from the surfaces licked by the calves.• J e h I i f k a (1966) noticed a sucking reflex which lasted for 30 minutes after the calf drank mUIt.He reccomends tliat the calves be fixed for about half an hour after drinking milk until the sucking reflex disappears.Pol ik (1980) and other authors recommended the "all in -all out" system of housing f .... calf houses as well.Men II i k et aI.( 1983) recommended calv.ingpens with this operation in isolated sections.They recommend that the calf house be divided into a larger number of separate sections.or at least into two parts.with alternating operation in order that the free part could be disinfected.and to house the calves intoindiv.idualbox.es.K r e j f i et al. (1984) and other authors propose similar measures.The measures proposed are very convenient also for reducing the transfer of endoparasites in calving pens and calf houses.Coccidia oocysts and helminth eggs are very resistant to various disinfectants.That is why regular and tborcugh mechanical cleaning remov.ingmost of the parasites is so important.
H 0 j 0 v e c et al. ( 1973) drew attention to the fact that the preventive measures should be aimed.in the first place.at increasing the specific resistance of the calv.eseven before transport into large-scale calf houses.Repeated examinations showed that the majority of mothers and nurse cows are virtually permanently parasitized with coccidia (frequently with several species).The nearly permanent presence of endoparasites in the organism enables to obtain and maintain antiparaaitary immunity of the mothers and to form conditions for colostral immunity of the calves.Small doses of parasites create conditions for the development of defence mechanisms .. •early as in the very young calves.
In the present material from various calving pens and calf houses.coccidia of the genus EimeJlia were found in very low intensities.helminths only sporadically.It is improbable that the endoparasites mentioned would be of greater importance in diarrheal disorders of newborn calves.More important is the transfer of coccidia from calving pens and calf houses into large-scale calf houses.
5 van b a e v (1967) observed first coccidia oocysts in a 10-day-old calf.Pro k 0 pic and P a v I a s e k (1977) found sporadic EimvUo.bov,u oocysts in a 12-day-old calf.Coccidia oocysts of the genus C1t!fpto4poucLiwn, not found in Czechoslovakia until 1980, were excreted much earlier than coccidia oocysts of the genus EimVt.i4(P a v I , s e k 1981).L u k e ii 0 v, et al. (1984), P a v I , s e k et al. (19B3) found CJr.I(pt:OllpoltULiwn sp.oocysts In calves of only 3 days of age; at the farm under study, ail the 6 to 14-day-old calves were excreting CJr.yptollpoltULiwn sp.oocysts.P a v i ' s e k et al. ( (1984)  drew attention to the fact that the significance of cryptosporidia as primary pathogens has not yet been conclusively explained, n...It seems that they could be a facultative pathogen because they firmly adhere to the epithelial cells of the intestinal mucosa ••• and damage the microvilli.•Theendogenous stages of coccidia of the genus EimVt.i4(often found in the present material) develop mostly in the superficial layer of the intestinal mucOSa.Schizonts and sexual stages of E. zuVUIU parasitize in the epithelial cells of the small and large intestines and the caecum and they are, on average, 11 -14 11m large (D a vis and Bow man 1957).E. boviA forms relatively large schizonts -on average 300 -400 11m -in the endothelial cells of the vUli of the small Intestine.The second generation of schizonts is localized in the caecum and large intestine (H a m m 0 n d 1964).Endogenous stages of E. bov.i6 and E. aubWUlellll.i6 in the intelltines penetrate into the propria mucosae (G r a a f n e r and G r a u b man n 1979).In some Ei.mvWl species parasitizing in cattie, " the endogenous development Is not yet known.Coccidia of the genus EimVt.i4often considerably damage the intestinal mucosa and thus allow the various microorganisms to penetrate.

Table I
Excretion of oocysts of the less pathogenic species of coccidia and of helminth eggs by calves in calving pens and calf houses