Prevalence and determination of species distribution of Eimeria in poultry from the Swabi district, Pakistan

Vet World Vol.17 September-2024 Article - 4

Research Article

Veterinary World, 17(9): 1983-1989

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2024.1983-1989

Noreen Begum¹, Sumaira Shams¹, Farhad Badshah^1,2,3, Irfan Khattak⁴, Muhammad Salman Khan¹, Naimat Ullah Khan⁴, Warda Naz⁵, Eliana Ibáñez-Arancibia^6,7,8, Patricio R. De los Ríos-Escalante^8,9, Seema Hassan¹, and Mourad Ben Said^10,11

1. Department of Zoology, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, Pakistan.
2. State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing 100193, China.
3. Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Multi-Omics of MARA, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518000, China.
4. College of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, Pakistan.
5. Department of Zoology, Hazara University, Mansehra, Pakistan.
6. PhD Program in Sciences Mentioning Applied Molecular and Cell Biology, La Frontera University, Temuco, Chile.
7. Department of Chemical Engineering, Laboratory of Engineering, Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry, Faculty of Engineering and Science, La Frontera University, Temuco, Chile.
8. Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Natural Resources, Catholic University of Temuco, Temuco, Chile.
9. Department of Nucleus of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Resources, Catholic University of Temuco, Temuco, Chile.
10. Department of Basic Sciences, Higher Institute of Biotechnology of Sidi Thabet, University of Manouba, Manouba 2010, Tunisia.
11. Laboratory of Microbiology, National School of Veterinary Medicine of Sidi Thabet, University of Manouba, Manouba 2010, Tunisia.

Background and Aim: Coccidiosis, caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Eimeria, is a significant concern in poultry farming, leading to substantial economic losses worldwide. In Pakistan, poultry is a major component of the agricultural sector, with both broiler and egg-laying chickens playing crucial roles in meeting the country’s protein needs. Despite the importance of the poultry industry, there is limited data on prevalence and species distribution of Eimeria in different types of chickens in District Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. This study aims to estimate the prevalence and determine the distribution of Eimeria species in broiler and egg-laying chickens in this region.

Materials and Methods: Nine hundred fecal samples were collected from broiler (380) and egg-laying domestic chickens (520) in District Swabi, Pakistan. Microscopic analysis was used to identify Eimeria parasites in all samples. After microscopic examination for positive identification, Eimeria species were determined using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays.

Results: Microscopic examination identified Eimeria oocysts in 44.4% (400/900) of the samples. Eimeria parasite infection significantly varied based on chicken type, age, and gender (p < 0.05). The study found that broiler chickens (52.63%, 235/450), young chickens (4–6 weeks) (55.5%, 285/500), and females (52.2%, 200/380) were more infected with Eimeria spp. than egg-laying domestic chickens (38.5%, 200/520), adults (above 6 weeks) (28.8%), and males (36.7%, 165/450). PCR indicated a distribution rate of 42.5% (170/400) Eimeria tenella, 26.25% (105/400) Eimeria acervulina, 20% (80/400) Eimeria maxima, and 11.25% (45/400) Eimeria mitis. None of Eimeria necatrix, Eimeria brunetti, or Eimeria praecox was found in the study.

Conclusion: This study underlines the essential requirement for targeted interventions due to the prevalence and predominance of E. tenella among identified Eimeria species. Future research should focus on refined sampling strategies and investigate the clinical significance of these parasites for effective disease management in the local poultry industry.

Keywords: coccidiosis, domestic chickens, Eimeria species, microscopic and molecular identification, Pakistan, prevalence.

How to cite this article: Begum N, Shams S, Badshah F, Khattak I, Khan MS, Khan NU, Naz W, Ibáñez-Arancibia E, Ríos-Escalante PRDL, Hassan S, and Ben Said M (2024) Prevalence and determination of species distribution of Eimeria in poultry from the Swabi district, Pakistan, Veterinary World, 17(9): 1983–1989.

Received: 2024-01-29 Accepted: 2024-07-22 Published online: 2024-09-01

Corresponding author: Irfan Khattak and Mourad Ben Said E-mail: irfankhattak@awkum.edu.pk and bensaidmourad83@yahoo.fr

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2024.1983-1989

Copyright: Begum, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/ publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.