Prevalence and diversity of Eimeria spp. in free-range chickens in northeastern Brazil

Abstract

In tropical regions, family farming is a form of production and work that is highly present in rural areas. Because the production system for free-range chickens has a low level of technification, it frequently presents massive infection by coccidia. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and diversity of Eimeria species in free-range chickens in northeastern Brazil. Fecal analyses were carried out using materials collected from 100 farms, belonging to 10 different municipalities. The sample from each farm was composed of five stool samples collected from different animals. Coproparasitological analyses were performed and, in each positive sample, photomicrographs of 20 oocysts were used for morphological identification of coccidia. The presence of Eimeria spp. was detected in 59% (59/100) of the farms analyzed. Species identification was performed through morphometric analysis of 1,180 sporulated oocysts. The following eight species of Eimeria spp. were found, in decreasing order of prevalence: Eimeria necatrix (25%), Eimeria mitis (18.3%), Eimeria mivati (17.3%), Eimeria tenella (12.4%), Eimeria brunetti (9.9%), Eimeria acervulina (9.1%), Eimeria praecox (4.8%) and Eimeria maxima (3.2%). The prevalence and diversity of Eimeria spp. on farms producing backyard chickens in the semiarid region of Brazil were high, especially the diversity of species. Changing the management, with the adoption of sanitary measures, may be effective in reducing the high prevalence of coccidia on the farms studied.

Molecular Investigation of Eimeria Species in Broiler Farms in the Province of Vojvodina, Serbia

“…A similar phenomenon was described in Greece, where mixed infections with two or more Eimeria species were identified in broiler flocks [7]. The failure of zootechnical control and the low quality of animal management are the main reasons for the occurrence of mixed infections and the decrease in body weight of chickens [43].…”

“…Infections with several Eimeria species are very common on farms [42,43]. Gyorke et al (2013) describe that in our neighbouring country, Romania, there are mixed infections, usually with two, three or four different types of Eimeria [22].…”

Understanding the relationship between the presence of vegetation and the spread of canine visceral leishmaniasis in Camaçari, Bahia State, Northeastern Brazil

“…Sandflies are often found living in chicken coops since they provide shelter from winds, animals to feed from and faeces to lay eggs in [11, 36], so any dogs living in a household which keeps chickens are more likely to come into contact with sandflies, and hence VL. Family farming of livestock such as chickens is highly present in rural areas of northeastern Brazil, where vegetation is more abundant [37]. A directed acyclic graph showing these relationships is presented in the supplementary material(8).…”

Expression of Toll‐like receptors and host defence peptides in the cecum of chicken challenged with Eimeria tenella

“…Chicken coccidiosis, caused by seven species of Eimeria protozoan parasite, typically involves lesions in the intestinal mucosa 1 . Infected birds usually display malabsorption, enteritis and reduced production performance, resulting in high economic losses to poultry breeding 2,3 . Eimeria tenella , one of the most virulent pathogens of coccidiosis, specifically occupies the chicken cecum, causing severe tissue damage associated with haemorrhage, bloody stools, and in severe cases, death 4 …”