Abstract
A survey was conducted on chicken broiler farms from Romania in August-November 2010 to evaluate economic losses due to coccidiosis. Data were collected from six broiler farms of different capacity regarding chemoprophylaxis program, weight gain, feed conversion, and mortality, for two previous flocks in two houses of each farm, and finally we evaluated the economic losses. Also, faeces samples were collected and oocysts were classified according to their size, and virulence of each Eimeria spp. field isolate was determined by lesion scoring. Correlations between economic performance, oocysts category, and virulence of Eimeria were assessed by multiple linear regression. Total economic losses per 24 flocks of 18,000 chicks each were about €37,948.2, with an average of €3,162.4 per flock, and they were caused by mortality (34.8%) and poor feed conversion (65.2%). Poor body weight gain was associated with AM oocyst category (presumptively E. acervulina and/or E. mitis), high lesion score in the duodenum, and coccidiostat used for chemoprophylaxis. Feed conversion ratio was linked to the same parameters as body weight gain, minus chemoprophylaxis programme, plus total lesion score. The percentage of mortality was influenced by the lesion score in the caecum and total lesion score. Statistical analysis showed that epidemiological survey of broiler flocks during the grower period can help the farmer to avoid important economic losses due to coccidiosis. As in other countries, the economic losses caused by coccidiosis in Romania are important, and a good prophylaxis programme can reduce the economic impact of coccidiosis.
Highlights
Coccidiosis is the most common and costly disease of the poultry industry, caused by apicomplexan parasites belonging to the genus Eimeria that develop in the epithelial cells of the gut
Coccidiosis did not occur on farms with drug-resistant strains of Eimeria (Hemsley, 1964), which cause subclinical coccidiosis expressed by poor weight gain and high feed consumption (Harfoush et al, 2010; Jenkins et al, 2010), leading to considerable economic losses
The averages of body weight gain (BWG), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and mortality on the farms included in the present study were 54.8 g/day (42.3-62.4), 2.0 (1.62.4), and 5.5 % (2.5-11.9), respectively
Summary
Coccidiosis is the most common and costly disease of the poultry industry, caused by apicomplexan parasites belonging to the genus Eimeria that develop in the epithelial cells of the gut. The poultry industry cannot be viable without specific prophylaxis based mainly on the use of in-feed anticoccidial drugs named coccidiostats (Peek and Landman, 2011) and rarely on vaccination (live vaccines), because of economic reasons and adverse effects on early chick growth (Williams, 2002). In Europe, 12 commercial products containing chemicals and ionophores are accepted Their extensive use led to development of drug resistance (Chapman, 1997), which was described globally for all anticoccidial drugs and for all Eimeria species (Kawazoe and Fabio, 1994; Peeters et al, 1994; Stephen et al, 1997; Peek and Landman, 2003; Williams, 2006; Abbas et al, 2008; Zhang et al, 2013). Annual costs of coccidiosis in the world have been estimated at two billion euro (Peek and Landman, 2011)
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