Histomonosis - an existing problem in chicken flocks in Poland

Abstract

Histomonosis (histomoniasis, blackhead), beside coccidiosis, belongs to the most important parasitic protozoan diseases in poultry. So far Histomonas meleagridis infections with varied mortality rates have been mainly diagnosed in young turkeys. Recently an increasing number of cases have been reported in chicken flocks in Europe resulting in economic losses. It is thought that this situation is predominantly caused by a complete withdrawal of the effective antihistomonals in the EU. Authors listed the selected outbreaks of histomonosis in 10 chicken flocks originated from different farms of 4 regions in Poland: 8 broiler breeder flocks (at mean age of 33 weeks) and 2 commercial layers flocks (at mean age of 38 weeks). This study reported here naturally occurring case of H.meleagridis infection in commercial broiler breeder (BB) flock line ROSS 308 at the age of 16 weeks. We showed acute form of infection with characteristic necrotic foci in the liver, and ulcerative typhilitis. Beside the liver and caeca, the multiple histomonads, lymphoid tissue depletion and heavy destruction in the bursa of Fabricius were observed. Additionally, the absence of systemic diffuse histomonads and lack of Heterakis gallinarum, caecal worm eggs in faecal samples were noted. PCR technique enabled to detect the presence of H.meleagridis genetic material in the investigated tissue samples. Authors indicate that histomonosis can be considered as re-emerging infectious diseases in chicken flocks of intensive production system.

Histomonosis in poultry: previous and current strategies for prevention and therapy

“…This is consistent with the finding that the seroprevalence of H. meleagridis is higher in pullets and layers kept in free-range systems compared to chickens that are housed on deep litter (Grafl et al, 2011). Although biosecurity is important to reduce the risk of an outbreak in a chicken or turkey flock, it is not always possible to prevent the infection with H. meleagridis as described above and as reported previously from breeder flocks of turkeys and chickens, where a high level of biosecurity can be assumed (Callait-Cardinal et al, 2007;Dolka et al, 2015). Birds kept on free range are more likely to be exposed to parasites, although there are certain factors that influence the occurrence or severity of histomonosis.…”

Infecção natural por Histomonas meleagridis em pavões-indianos (Pavo cristatus)

“…A enfermidade desenvolve-se decorrente da ingestão de ovos do nematódeo presentes nas fezes de aves contaminadas ou de minhocas [5,15,20]. No ceco da ave infectada, os trofozoítos são liberados a partir dos ovos de H. gallinarum, que penetram na parede do ceco e perdem o flagelo passando ao estágio ameboide [8] na qual se aderem à parede cecal e, por via hematógena, se disseminam para o fígado causando lesões características da doença como hepatite necrótica, em média, seis dias a partir da infecção [11,16].…”

“…Essa infeção é a segunda doença mais importante causada por protozoários em aves domésticas, atrás apenas da coccidiose, doença de alto impacto econômico que acomete aves de todos os continentes [5]. A enfermidade é causadora de grandes prejuízos econômicos a criadores de aves, tendo em vista o decréscimo na produção, a desuniformidade dos lotes, os gastos com medicamentos e controle dos surtos [15].…”

Bulky Trichomonad Genomes: Encoding a Swiss Army Knife

“…Its importance to the poultry industries is second only to that of coccidiosis; a potentially lethal affliction caused by Eimeria spp. [12]. Tri.…”