EN
The aim of this investigation was to determine the prevalence of coccidian invasions in suckling piglets and sows in different regions of Poland. The research was conducted in 2003 in 12 out of 16 Polish provinces in 3 types of farms: large (>100 sows), medium (25 to 100 sows) and small (<25 sows). Diarrhea in unweaned piglets was observed in all the examined farms. Overall, 473 litters of suckling piglets from 65 farms and 237 mother sows were examined. Feces were examined by the modified McMaster method. Isopsora suis were found in 146 litters (30.9%) from 49 farms (75.4%). Coccidia from the genus Eimeria (E. polita, E. debliecki, E. suis) were found in only 16 litters (3.4%) from 8 farms (12.3%). In large farms, I. suis invasion was detected in 35.2% of the litters whereas Eimeria spp. in only 1.9 % of them. In medium farms, I. suis was found in 21.8% of the litters and Eimeria spp. were not detected. In small farms I. suis was found only in 14.7% of the litters whereas Eimeria spp. in as many as 29.4%. I. suis was found in 15 (6.3%) of the fecal samples of the sows. For Eimeria spp. (E. debliecki, E. polita, E. suis, E. perminuta) the sow incidence rate was also 6.3%. Moreover in only 2 sows (0.8%) both types of coccidia occurred together. From 61 sows fostering I. suis infected piglets, only 9 (14.8%) shed I. suis oocyst and as little as 4 (6.5%) shed Eimeria oocyst. The remaining 48 sows (78.7%) did not shed coccidian oocysts. The results of this investigation show the high prevalence of Isospora suis in suckling piglets in large pig farms in Poland.