Occurrence of poultry coccidiosis in different management systems in Thrissur, Kerala

Coccidiosis is one of the most prevalent and economically important parasitic diseases caused by the infection with Eimeria species contributing to major economic losses of poultry industry worldwide. In this study, occurrence of Eimeria spp. in chicken reared under different management systems was studied. A total of 300 faecal samples from chicken were collected from six organised poultry farms and six backyard poultry units in and around Thrissur, Kerala. Out of this, 167 faecal samples were from organised farms and 133 from backyard poultry units. All the samples were artificially sporulated and examined for studying the oocysts morphology and morphometry. Out of 167 samples from organised farms 52 were found to be positive for Eimeria spp. while 61 out of 133 samples from backyard poultry were positive. The overall occurrence of Eimeria spp. in chicken from 12 different areas in and around Thrissur was 37.66 per cent (113/300). The species of Eimeria identified on morphological examination were E. tenella, E. necatrix and E. maxima. The occurrence rate of E. tenella was found to be significantly higher (46.01 %) compared to E. necatrix (39.82 %) and E. maxima (14.15 %). The rate of occurrence of Eimeria spp. infection was significantly higher in backyard poultry (45.86 %) compared to that in organised farms (31.13 %).