Prevalence of blood protozoa in poultry in Tangail, Bangladesh

Abstract

The present study was undertaken in different areas of Tangail district to investigate the presence of haemosporidian parasites in domestic poultry (Chicken, duck and pigeon). A total of 72 samples were examined from December, 2013 to May, 2014. Microscopical examinations of peripheral blood were performed. Among the examined samples, 33(45.8%) poultry were found to be infected with different blood protozoa. Two species of blood protozoa were identified such as Leucocytozoon spp. in chickens (34.6%) and ducks (58.3%); Haemoproteus spp. (22.7%) and Leucocytozoon spp. (22.7%) in pigeons. Female (46.5%) were 1.10 times more susceptible than male (44.8%) which was statistically significant (P<0.01). The overall prevalence of young birds was 17.39% while in adults 59.18% and this variation was statistically significant (P<0.05). According to calculated odds ratio, adults were 6.89 times more susceptible than the youngs. From the findings of this study it is concluded that haemosporidian parasitic infection in poultry is prevalent in Bangladesh. Therefore, more epidemiological studies are necessary to know the exact situation of haemosporidian parasites in poultry of Bangladesh.