Coccidia and coccidiosis research

Coccidiosis is an intestinal disease caused by single-celled parasites of the genus *Eimeria*, and in poultry production it ranks among the costliest infectious diseases worldwide, driving significant losses in growth, feed efficiency, and flock survival. Researchers study how these parasites invade and destroy gut tissue, how the host immune system recognizes and responds to infection, and how that knowledge can be translated into vaccines or drug regimens that reduce reliance on any single control strategy. A central challenge is that *Eimeria* comprises multiple species with distinct biology and limited cross-protective immunity, making broad-spectrum, durable protection difficult to achieve. Active work is focused on genomic characterization of parasite strains, the development of next-generation live and subunit vaccines, and understanding the immunomodulatory mechanisms that could be leveraged to strengthen host resistance without compromising production performance.

Works

32,763

Total citations

264,919

Keywords

Poultry CoccidiosisVaccine DevelopmentAnticoccidial DrugsImmune ResponseEimeria SpeciesControl Measures