Hepatic coccidiosis in red lechwe (Kobus leche leche).

HEPATIC coccidiosis is relatively common in rabbits but only rarely reported in other mammals, including goats, a calf, a dog, and mink (Mahmoud and others 1994, Schafer and others 1995, Oruc 2007). We would like to report two cases of hepatic coccidiosis in 12- to 18-month-old red lechwe (Kobus leche leche) in a mixed-aged herd of 74 animals from a zoological collection. The animals were submitted to Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) – Preston for postmortem examination with a brief history of diarrhoea before death. Case 1 had multifocal 1 to 2 mm diameter white spots within the liver, which contained soft white purulent material, and the bile ducts showed multifocal/segmental moderate ectasia containing yellow purulent material and bile. Moderate catarrhal enteritis with a coccidial oocyst count of 62,200 opg was also …