الفهرس 
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Abstract
Rabbits are very abundant, worldwide and they are raised for a variety
of purposes including; production of meat and wool, used as laboratory
animal, tissue cultures, toxicity tests, ophthalmologic experiments and
production of antibodies.
Parasitic infection is one of health problems that hinder rabbit breeding
and interfering with its production especially Eimeria spp. which is
considered as one of the most important diseases of rabbits. Therefore, the
present study was carried out to make a spot light on some internal and
external parasites infecting rabbits at Quena Governorate; including the
prevalence regarding to the age, sex and breeds; morphology of the recovered
parasite species, histopathological changes and the efficacy of some
anticoccidial drugs.
The present study showed that the overall infection rate of internal
parasites infecting rabbits at Quena Governorate was 68.12 % and the most
frequent species was protozoa with an infection rate of 49%, while the
helminthes infection represented 5.7% of the examined samples through
coprological examinations. Additionally, the mixed infection represented in
13.4% of the examined samples.
Concerning the ages of examined rabbits, the obtained results revealed
that young rabbits (kids) were seem to be more susceptible to the infection
with internal parasites (78.8%) than the adult ones (43.3%). Moreover,
female rabbits (both adult and kids) were more susceptible to the internal
parasites infection than male ones where the infection rate was 73.8% and
25.7%, respectively.
In respect to rabbit breeds, the present investigation concluded that the
most susceptible rabbit breed to internal parasitic infections seemed to be Newzelandy with an overall prevalence of 76.2% and the least susceptible
breed was Flander sp. (25%).
Regarding to the monthly infection rate of different internal parasites
among rabbits revealed that the highest infection rates were observed in
December, January and April, where the percent of infection were 100%,
90% and 90%, respectively, while the lowest infection rate was recorded
during August and October, where the infection rate reached (42.86%) and
(45%) respectively.
Concerning to the seasonal prevalence; the obtained results concluded
that the highest infection rate was observed during winter season followed by
autumn, spring where the infection rates were 83.33%, 73.33% and 64.21 %,
respectively, while the lowest infection rate was recorded during summer
season (57.83%).
Among the Helminthes; the helminthes identified was Passalurus
ambiguus in the present study.
The overall prevalence of Passalurus ambiguus infection among
examined rabbits via coprological examination was 5.7 %. Furthermore, the
highest prevalence of infection was observed among young and male rabbits,
where the infection rate was 5.8% and 8.6%, respectively.
In present investigations the seasonal prevalence of P. ambiguus
infection in rabbits showed that the highest prevalence was recorded during
summer season followed by spring where the infection rates were 16.9%,
3.2%, respectively, while there was no infections was observed during winter
and autumn seasons.
Among the protozoan; the coccidia identified were Eimeria spp. and
Cryptosporidium spp. in the present investigation.
The present study showed that the overall prevalence of Eimeria spp.
and Cryptosporidium species among examined rabbits was 33.9% and 15.1 %,
respectively.
Dealing with rabbit breeds, the present study revealed the most
susceptible breeds to Eimeria species infection seemed to be Newzeland
breed with an overall prevalence of 48.5% with low percent of infection
among Rex breed (7.7%).
Regarding to the age of examined rabbit, the obtained results showed
that the total prevalence of Eimeria spp. among rabbit kids and adult were
47.1% and 3.3%, respectively. Dealing with the age and sex, the obtained
results revealed that the prevalence of Eimeria spp. among female kids, male
kids, adult female and adult male were 48.8%, 0.0%, 1.6 and 7.1 %,
respectively. Furthermore, the obtained results revealed that the total
prevalence of Cryptosporidium among rabbit kids and adult rabbits was 9.1 %
and 28.9%, respectively.
The present research showed that the high prevalence of Eimeria spp.
infection was observed during winter season with an infection rate of 63.3%
followed by spring and autumn seasons where the infection rates were 40%
and 33.3%, respectively, while the lowest percent of infection was recorded
during summer season (6%).
Eight species of Eimeria were recovered from the faeces of examined
rabbits based on their morphological characters and the prevalence of each
species was as follow:
E. perforans 96%, E. magna 92%, E. flavescens 68%, E. coecicola 32%, E.
exigua 28%, E. media 20%, E. intestinalis 12%, and E. piriformis 8%.
Concerning the ectoparasites in this study, the total incidence of
infection was 25 %; and the most frequent species was Sarcoptes Scabiei
(22.5%) and Notoedres cuniculi (2.5%).
Regarding to the age of examined rabbit, the obtained results showed
that the total prevalence of mite infection among rabbit kids and adult were
29.5% and 19.3%, respectively.
Dealing with the age and sex, the results clarified that the prevalence of
ectoparasites were high in male rabbits (both adult and kids) compared to
female rabbits (both adult and kids) where the infection rates were 31.4% and
22.8%, respectively. Generally, it was established that the young ages of
rabbits (kids) and the male were more susceptible to mite infection compared
to adult ones and females.
In respect to the treatment trials, the present work found that, the
marked decrease in OPG was observed as a result of medication with all
therapeutic agents used (amprolium and toltrazuril) as there was a significant
decrease in the total oocyst count in comparison with the infected non treated
group. Furthermore, there was a noticeable significant decrease in the total
oocyst count among the treated groups with both amprolium and toltrazuril.
The criteria for drug evaluation were clinical signs, oocyst counts, and
mortality rate, and average feed intake, hematological and histopathological
changes.In recent years, there has been increasing commercial production of rabbits as a source of protein. The consumers prefer rabbits for their low cholesterol and fat contents (Al-Husseini, 1992). Therefore, rabbit production became one of the most important animal resources in Egypt. In addition to this commercial value, these animals are used as very important models for medical research and as pets (Yousif and Abdul-Aziz, 1995). Moreover, besides their uses as laboratory animals, are used for a wide variety of commercial purposes viz. wool, meat and fur (Tripathi et al., 1995).Rabbit breeding is widespread in many parts of the world and, in particular, at some governorates of Egypt, where the most rabbit population is in the hand of smallholders, while the rest belong to commercial sector (Galal and Khalil, 1994)Like other animals, rabbits have diseases and parasites that interfere with their normal physiology which have in the past contributed to the reduction of populations, as well as, slowing the progress of rabbit farmers across the world.Parasitic infections are one of the most health problems that hamper rabbit breeding and interfering with its production.Passalurus ambiguus (Rudolphi, 1919) is a common oxyurid found in the caecum and colon of domestic, wild, and laboratory rabbits and hares (Owen, 1972; Taffs, 1976). Furthermore, it is the species most likely to be adapted to the intensive breeding farms, as its infective larvae do not leave the egg until the egg is ingested by the host (Grice and Prociv, 1993).P. ambiguus infections of rabbit are not generally thought to be very pathogenic, although very large numbers of pinworms were found in rabbits, where scouring was a problem (Ostler, 1961), and fatal massive infections in young rabbits have been recorded (Owen, 1972).Coccidiosis remains one of the most important infectious causes of digestive disorders in fattening rabbits (Vancraeynest et al., 2008Coccidiosis of rabbits are ubiquitous infections caused by obligatory intracellular protozoan parasites belonging to the genus Eimeria and considered as a major cause of significant morbidities and mortalities (Lebas et al., 1986; Wang and Tsai, 1991; Coudert et al., 1995 and Bhat et al., 1996) and seriously impairing their growth and food utilization (Abdel-Megeed et al., 2005). It mainly affects the intestine and only one species cause hepatic lesion (Eimeria stiedae).Cryptosporidium is a ubiquitous enteropathogen and has been reported from many geographical regions of the world. The parasite is recognized as one of the most common causes of diarrhea in humans and farm animals (De Graaf et al. 1999; Joachim, 2004 and Caccio, 2005Cryptosporidial infection of livestock may have an important economic impact on farmers because of high morbidity and sometimes high mortality rates among animals (Sunnotel et al., 2006).Both pet and wild rabbits are a potential source of human cryptosporidiosis and as such, good hygiene practices are recommended during and after handling rabbits or exposure to their faeces, or potentially contaminated surfaces (Robinson and Chalmers, 2010).Mange is a highly contagious skin disease, characterized by crusty, pruritic dermatitis and hair / feather loss, and caused by a variety of parasitic mites burrowing in or living on the skin. (Pence and Ueckermann, 2002).Coccidiosis is mainly controlled by prophylaxis with different anticoccidical drugs. Since the end of 2008, diclazuril is now authorized as feed additive for rabbit in France, Italy and Spain. Nevertheless, other drugs exist that are efficacious against rabbit Coccidia. Anticocidials are usually mixed in feeding pellets, but if application of some drugs, such as toltrazuril, in drinking water is possible, it may be advantageous for small rabbitries.