Clinical, Parasitic, and Histopathological Study of Pigeons Infested with Raillietina spp in Al-Qadisiyah Province, Iraq

Abstract

Pigeons, in Al-Qadisiyah Province-Iraq, were investigated Clinically, parasitically, and histopathologically for the presence of Raillietina spp in their intestines. For these reasons, 5 cities from the mentioned province above were sampled as 150 (100 males and 50 females) pigeons were studied. The general clinical inspection, intestinal exploration and slides for the worms, and histopathological slide sections for the infested intestines were performed. The results of the clinical studies revealed delay growth in the young birds and emaciation in the adult pigeons. For the parasitic characteristics in the intestines, the results showed clearly the presence of Raillietina spp, declaring by their firmly attachment to the mucosa by their suckers and showing their segments, in the lumens of the small intestines. In the case of histopathological pictures, intestines revealed grossly small-intestine-wall-based enlargement and obstruction via intussception caused by the tapeworm presence with huge amounts of mucus and air bubbles and the parasitic white convoluted tracks in the intestinal mucosa. Microscopically, the results recognized that mucosa had mechanical disintegration, marked sloughing of the epithelial layers that belonged to the villi and crypts, epithelial-cell-based desquamation of the villi that were affected by dwarfism, mucosa and submucosa infiltration with mononuclear cells. This study provides important clinical, parasitic, and histopathological data of pigeons infested with Raillietina spp in AlQadisiyah Province, Iraq.