Gastrointestinal Helminths Infection in Different Types of Poultry

The prevalence of gastrointestinal helminth parasites and the gross pathological lesions produced by them in different types of poultry were studied from March 2005 to March 2006, in the Department of Parasitology, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh. In this study, 240 viscera of three types of poultry such as broiler, layer and backyard indigenous chickens were collected from local markets of Mymensingh district. During routine examination, total six species of helminth parasites were recorded, of which three species were nematodes such as Ascaridia galli, Heterakis gallinarum and Capillaria annulata; two species were cestodes such as Raillietina tetragona and Amoebotaenia sphenoides and only one species was belonged to trematode such as Catatropis verrucosa. Prevalence of different species of gastrointestinal helminths was highest in backyard poultry (100%) followed by layer (48.75%) and broiler (3.75%) which was statistically significant (p < 0.01). Backyard poultry was significantly (p < 0.05) 168.21 and 4106.67 times more susceptible to helminth infection than layer and broiler respectively. But layer was 24.41 times more susceptible to helminth infection than broiler. In backyard poultry, all six species of helminth parasites were found. A statistically significant (p < 0.05) variation in the prevalence of the recovered parasites from backyard poultry were observed such as the prevalence of R. tetragona (100%) was the highest followed by that of A. galli (87.50%) and H. gallinarum (80%). From the odds ratio of the recovered parasites, it was observed that chance of developing R. tetragona (odds ratio 189.73) in backyard poultry was the highest followed by A. galli (odds ratio 7.51) and H. gallinarum (odds ratio 4.04). In case of layer, only A. galli and R. tetragona were recorded, of which, prevalence of A. galli was the highest (43.75%). In broiler, only A. galli (3.75%) was found. Gross pathological lesions were found only in backyard poultry. Pathological changes were detected in case of A. sphenoides and H. gallinarum infection. In A. sphenoides infection petechial hemorrhages were observed in the mucosa of the duodenum. On the other hand, tiny, white, circumscribed nodules of about 2-3 mm of diameter were found in the caecal mucosa in case of H. gallinarum infection. Results of the present study suggest that the backyard poultry is at the high risk of helminth infection. However, layers are also vulnerable to parasitic infection. So regular deworming is essential both in backyard poultry and layer birds to obtain better production from them.