XTRA-PERFORMANCE® Anticoccidials

Coccidiosis is a poultry disease caused by a protozoan parasite of the Eimeria genus. Their presence in nature is almost unavoidable, as parts of the life cycle is in the form of an incapsulated oocyst outside the bird. This oocyst is impervious to most chemical substances. Eimeria multiply in the intestinal cells causing, among other disorders, enteriditis and diarrhea.

Wet litter, oxygen and warm temperatures create the ideal environment to induce sporulation outside the bird, leading to the formation of sporulated oocysts which are the infective form of the parasite. After the ingestion of sporulated oocysts the coccidial life cycle starts inside the bird, causing subclinical coccidiosis or coccidiosis as such. Subclinical coccidiosis is the most occurring form, characterized by mild intestinal lesions and disturbance of normal mucous production by the intestinal cells. In consequence performance parameters are reduced due to the outcome of diarrhea, anaemia, bone development problems and reduced digestion. The main financial losses are caused by the subclinical form of the disease. Due to the less noticeable symptoms, medication is rarely used, leading to poor performance. Coccidiosis not only reduces nutrient absorption, it can also induce and act synergistically with other enteric diseases increasing possible intestinal harm and affecting performance.

Coccidiosis: determining the benefit
As today’s market is very competitive, optimizing gut health and intestinal integrity are extremely important and often makes the difference between loss and benefit. However, we only have a few effective products or limited number of ingredients that can resolve this never ending battle against coccidiosis.

The improved genetical potential of the birds is forcing us to maximize our effort to control coccidiosis in promoting birds optimal growth and minimal feed conversion. Coccidiosis management is crucial. There are few anticoccidial components known and in the near future there are few new components to be expected. This makes it tremendously important to use all the current products as optimal as possible to challenge actual and future resistance.