Coccidia

General information

Tortoise intranuclear coccidiosis (TINC) is a severe disease in tortoises with high morbidity and mortality rates. TINC has already been detected in different tortoises and box turtles in North America and Europe. Clinical symptoms include lethargy, significant weight loss, erosive rhinitis, dyspnoea and occasionally skin lesions. Infections are generally systemic. These coccidia are most frequently detected in the intestine, pancreas, liver and kidney. However, they can also be found in the Eustachian tube, in macrophages of the spleen, in the middle ear, lungs and stomach. In live animals with rhinitis, they can also be detected in nasal lavage samples.