DETERMINATION OF THE EFFICACY OF A PLANT-BASED FEED ADDITIVE AGAINST THE CAUSATIVE AGENT OF CRYPTOSPORIDIOSIS IN CALVES

This article presents a study to identify the efficacy of a plant-based feed additive against the causative agent of cryptosporidiosis in calves, Cryptosporidium parvum and Cryptosporidium muris. Currently, there is a tendency to exacerbate the epizootic situation on cryptosporidiosis, which is associated with intensive cattle breeding technology, animal crowding, lack of timely diagnosis and treatment, as well as high resistance of sporulated oocysts in the external environment. Despite the fact that the main aspects of the cryptosporidiosis issue have been deeply studied, the issues of effective treatment and prevention still remain relevant. Therefore, the search for effective and safe drugs against the pathogens of cryptosporidiosis is of interest not only for fundamental parasitology but also for modern livestock enterprises. The experiment involved 3 groups of animals: positive and negative controls and an experimental group where the tested feed additive was used. The animals in the negative control group and the experimental group were infected on day 5 after the start of the experiment. The experimental group had higher average daily and gross weight gain compared to the negative control. The plant-based feed additive showed its efficacy against the causative agent of cryptosporidiosis in calves.