[Experimental infection of the mule duck by Eimeria mulardi sp. nov.: effects on body weight and modifications of different hematologic and biochemical parameters].

Eleven-day-old female Mule ducks (Cairina moschata x Anas platyrhynchos) were individually infected per os with a single inoculation containing 10(4), 10(5) or 10(6) sporulated oocysts of E mulardi, or kept as uninfected controls. No mortality was observed. Growth rate was not modified at lower doses, but was reduced in the other 2 groups, with weight loss on d 7 post inoculation (PI). Blood was detected in feces by chemical characterization of hemoglobin as early as d 3 PI with the highest infecting dose, while oocyst excretion began on d 6 PI in all infected groups. With 10(5) and 10(6) oocysts, the authors observed a significant increase in sedimentation rate and a slight anemia. Total protein and lipid concentrations in the plasma decreased in the 3 infected groups. These results show the pathogenic effect of E mulardi in Mule duckling, with dose-dependent changes. All parameters, except sedimentation rate, showed maximal variations during the acute phase of infection, between d 6 and d 9 PI, and returned to normal values early, in relation to the infecting dose, except that the weight remained lower than in the uninfected group at the final control (d 28 Pl). These perturbations have been described in avian coccidiosis.