Occurrence of poultry coccidiosis in different management systems in Thrissur, Kerala

Coccidiosis is one of the most prevalent and economically important parasitic diseases caused by the infection with Eimeria species contributing to major economic losses of poultry industry worldwide. In this study, occurrence of Eimeria spp. in chicken reared under different management systems was studied. A total of 300 faecal samples from chicken were collected from six organised poultry farms and six backyard poultry units in and around Thrissur, Kerala. Out of this, 167 faecal samples were from organised farms and 133 from backyard poultry units. All the samples were artificially sporulated and examined for studying the oocysts morphology and morphometry. Out of 167 samples from organised farms 52 were found to be positive for Eimeria spp. while 61 out of 133 samples from backyard poultry were positive. The overall occurrence of Eimeria spp. in chicken from 12 different areas in and around Thrissur was 37.66 per cent (113/300). The species of Eimeria identified on morphological examination were E. tenella, E. necatrix and E. maxima. The occurrence rate of E. tenella was found to be significantly higher (46.01 %) compared to E. necatrix (39.82 %) and E. maxima (14.15 %). The rate of occurrence of Eimeria spp. infection was significantly higher in backyard poultry (45.86 %) compared to that in organised farms (31.13 %).

Nutrition and Poultry Coccidiosis: Causes, Consequences and Current Strategies to Modulate the Disease

Eimeria spp. are parasites specialized in invade and replicate in the intestine, causing coccidiosis, an enteric disease of major economic importance worldwide. The disease causes losses in production and high morbidity ranging from bloody enteritis, with high mortality, to being subclinical silent but affecting feed intake and efficiency. However, intestinal lesions of the infection vary, depending on the species of coccidia. The most important Eimeria species in poultry are: E. tenella, E. acervulina, E. maxima, E. necatrix, E. mitis, E. praecox and E. brunetti. All those species affect different anatomic sites of the intestine. Thus, they alter the homeostasis of the host reducing nutrient absorption and utilization. Nutritional factors are key players in several steps of the coccidiosis disease. Firstly, as a susceptibility or protection factor, secondly, during the process of infection and pathogenesis, and thirdly, in the recovery and compensatory growth of the bird. Otherwise, coccidiosis also triggers immune response in the intestine. To counter these complicated effects, there are nutritional strategies (including formulation of key amino acids, vitamins, short and medium chain fatty acids, prebiotics, enzymes, among others) that can be utilized to reduce the infection, alleviate the signs, and boost the compensatory growth after infection. This chapter review the impacts of coccidiosis in nutrition and discuss about of strategies to mitigate these risks.

THE PREVALENCE OF POULTRY COCCIDIOSIS AND THE ANTICOCCIDIALS IN USE IN SOUTHERN NIGERIA

Forty brooder houses were sampled from four States in the southern part of Nigeria, namely: Oyo, Lagos, Imo and Anambra States, to identify the species of coccidia. Five species of Eimeria were isolated including Eimeria E. necatrix; E. maxima and E. mivati/E. mitis. Using the McMaster count, the number of oocyst occuring in each brooder house was calculted with the species of Eimeria oocyst, confirmed by experimentally infecting clean chicks and determining occyst size using the ocular micrometer. Frequent outbreaks of coccidiosis in these brooder houses were obviously prevented by the practise of administering anticoccidials daily until the birds were mature as can be observed with the use of common drugs as coccidiovit, amprolium, deccox, furazol, naccox and coxdin.