Study on effects and occurrence of nematodes in local and exotic chickens in and around Bahir Dar, Northwest Ethiopia.

A cross sectional study was conducted from November 2013 to April 2014 to investigate gastrointestinal (GI) nematode parasites in chickens in and around Bahir Dar, northwest Ethiopia. A total of 384 chickens comprising of 112 exotic and 272 local were examined for gastrointestinal nematode infections. Out of these, 180 (46.9%) were found to be infected with GI nematode parasites. The nematode species found in chickens were Ascaridia galii (15.1%), Heterakis gallinarum (11.7%), Capillaria columbae (4.4%) and Subulura brumpti (2.9%). There was a statistically significant difference (p 0.05) among sex category of chickens in which the prevalence of infection was 49.29 and 44.4% in female and male chickens. Mixed infections with two or more parasite species were also observed (12.8%). This study strongly suggested that GI nematode parasites are a very serious problem of backyard chickens in the study area and appropriate control strategies need to be devised.