DIAGNOSIS OF CRYPTOSPORIDIUM ON A SHEEP FARM WITH NEONATAL DIARRHEA BY IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE ASSAYS

An outbreak of diarrhea in neonatal lambs occurred on a sheep farm in northern Ohio. Diarrhea commenced as early as 1 week of age and lasted for about 3-4 days. Although 100% of the newborn lambs were affected, most had recovered by 3 weeks of age. Cryptosporidium infection appea red to be the cause of diarrhea. Fecal examination of nine diarrheic n ewborn lambs (5-10 days old), 23 older lambs (2-3 weeks old, six with diarrhea) and 23 clinically normal ewes by immunofluorescence assays r evealed infection rates of 100%, 78.3% and 17.4%, respectively. Most n ewborn lambs had high oocyst counts. Ewes were considered to be an imp ortant source of infection for lambs.