Prevalence of gastrointestinal helminth parasite infections in country chicken from Visakhapatnam district Andhra Pradesh India

Anisha Mathews; Janakiram Pasupuleti; Ummey Shameem

doi:10.1007/s12639-023-01644-0

Prevalence of gastrointestinal helminth parasite infections in country chicken from Visakhapatnam district Andhra Pradesh India

J Parasit Dis. 2024 Mar;48(1):95-107. doi: 10.1007/s12639-023-01644-0. Epub 2024 Feb 9.

Authors

Anisha Mathews¹, Janakiram Pasupuleti², Ummey Shameem¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Zoology, College of Science and Technology, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh 530003 India.
² Department of Marine Living Resources, College of Science and Technology, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh 530003 India.

PMID: 38440751
PMCID: PMC10909052 (available on 2025-03-01)
DOI: 10.1007/s12639-023-01644-0

Abstract

Birds in a free environment carry huge risk of helminth parasite infections affecting the health of poultry and thereby indirectly leading to great economic loss. The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence, intensity and species diversity of gastrointestinal helminth parasites (GIH) of country chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) from local chicken markets of Visakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh. A total of 300 gastrointestinal tract (GIT) samples were examined from January to December 2021 and the collected parasites were separated, counted, identified and statistically analysed. The overall prevalence of infection was found to be 87% with an intensity of 139.29. The study showed high prevalence with mixed infections (66%), whereas the prevalence with individual groups i.e. cestodes, nematodes and trematodes was found to be 83.00%, 70.33%, and 0.67% respectively. Altogether 10 parasite species were identified viz. Raillietina echinobothrida being the most dominant with a prevalence of 72.67%, followed by Raillietina tetragona (62.00%), Heterakis gallinarum (59.33%), Ascaridia galli (45.33%), Davainea proglottina (43.00%), Amoebotaenia cuneata (42.67%), Raillietina cesticillus (38.33%), Hymenolepis sp. 1 (36.00%), Cotugnia spp. (29.67%) and the least was Hymenolepis sp. 2 (21.00%). In month-wise data, highest prevalence was recorded in July (100%), and the highest seasonal prevalence was recorded in summer (90%), followed by monsoon (87%) and winter (84%). No major significant difference in prevalence was noted between males (88.51%) and females (85.53%). Hosts with high body temperature and low GIT pH levels showed increased prevalence and parasite intensity.

Keywords: Country chicken; Gastrointestinal helminth parasites; Intensity; Prevalence; Visakhapatnam.

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