Blood Parasites in Domestic Birds in Central Iran.

Farzaneh Mirzaei,Veeranoot Nissapatorn,Abolghasem Siyadatpanah,Soheila Pournasir,Roghayeh Norouzi,Maria De Lourdes Pereira

doi:10.3390/vetsci7030126

Abstract

Parasites may affect the dynamics of bird populations. Plasmodium, Leucocytozoon and Haemoproteus are well-known avian haematozoa that can trigger decreased productivity and high mortality in domesticated birds. In this study, we evaluated the prevalence of avian blood parasites (Plasmodium, Leucocytozoon and Haemoproteus) against 335 birds of 8 species in the Yazd province in central Iran. To detect blood parasites, Giemsa-stained blood smears were prepared. Of the birds, 11.64% (39/335) were infected with at least one parasite genus, particularly Haemoproteus (32.6%; 23/335). The total prevalence values for Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon were 1.7, 6.8 and 2.9%, respectively. Plasmodium had lower prevalence rates of 1.7% (6/335). Among birds, pigeons, hens and ducks have the highest prevalence of Haemoproteus, Leucocytozoon and Plasmodium parasites at 1.7%, 6.8% and 2.9%, respectively. Results from this research extend our knowledge on the incidence of avian blood parasites in domesticated birds living in central Iran. The overall low incidence of avian blood parasites in birds was found in the Yazd province, Iran.

Highlights

The domestic poultry industry plays a very important role in providing a source of protein to humans, and in general plays a crucial role as a revenue provider in the national economy
Plasmodium prevalence was low as compared to Haemoproteus, and Leucocytozoon was observed in six of eight bird species (Figure 2)
Pigeon was the bird species with the highest Haemoproteus prevalence (18.8%), while quail, partridge, ostrich and duck were not infected with Haemoproteus. emphPlasmodium was identified in five species: rooster (n = 1; 1.1%), quail (n = 1; 1.4%), partridge (n = 1; 1.4%), turkey (n = 1; 1.4%) and duck (n = 2; 3.1%) (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

The domestic poultry industry plays a very important role in providing a source of protein (meat and eggs) to humans, and in general plays a crucial role as a revenue provider in the national economy. Domestic poultry production in Iran is still distinctly divided into commercial and village business subsectors, each with its own particularities [1]. Bacterial, viral, and parasitic pathogens can infest the domestic poultry. Parasitism ranks high among factors threatening the production of poultry. Haemoparasite infections are the most prevalent among the various parasitic diseases [2]. Haemosporidia blood parasites are vector-borne parasites that infect reptiles, birds, amphibians and mammals throughout the world [2]. Wild and domesticated birds are infected by a number of intracellular blood parasites, including Plasmodium, Leucocytozoon and Haemoproteus

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