Abstract
Poultry industry occupies an important position in the provision of animal protein and plays a vital role in the national economy. Helminthiasis caused by helminth parasites is one of the most common infections affecting health of poultry and indirectly leading to great economic loss among small livestock holders. The prevalence of gastrointestinal helminth parasites in Gallus gallus domesticus was studied from January 2017 to December 2019 in the parasitology laboratory of Zoology Department, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, India. In this study, a total of 557 domestic fowls were examined to identify the different types of gastrointestinal helminth infections. During regular examination of helminth parasites, the highest prevalence was observed for Ascaridia galli (41.7%), followed by Cotugnia diagnopora (17.6%), Raillietina tetragona (11%), Heterakis gallinarum (7.4%) and Raillietina cesticillus (6.64%). In the monsoon season, prevalence was found to be higher than the summer and winter. Females were found to be more infected than the males. There was no trematode infection detected during the study period. The gross pathological lesions were observed in case of Heterakis gallinarum infection. The results of this study suggest that both nematodes and cestodes are prevalent in domestic fowls in the studied area.
Highlights
The chicken Gallus gallus domesticus is believed to have descended from the wild Indian and South East Asian red jungle fowl [1]
Nematodes were collected from the gastrointestinal tract of host with the help of forceps, washed in saline water and killed in hot 70% alcohol, and stored in the glycerine alcohol solution and thick parasites kept in lectophenol
Parasites were observed under light bright field microscope (10X, 40X, 100X), and photographs were taken by Evos XL imaging microscope
Summary
The chicken Gallus gallus domesticus is believed to have descended from the wild Indian and South East Asian red jungle fowl [1]. Poultry farming is the process of raising domesticated birds such as chickens and ducks for the purpose of producing meat or egg for food. The domestic chicken feeds on a wide range of food substances This range from grains, fruits to insects which may harbour infective stages of parasites thereby predisposing them to parasites gastro-intestinal parasites [3,4]. These parasitic infections may cause considerable damage and great economic loss to the poultry industry due to malnutrition, decreased feed conversion ratio, weight loss, lowered egg production and death in young birds. The Helminths are the most important group of parasites that affect the chickens both in terms of number and extent of damage caused to the gastrointestinal tract in the chickens
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