Endoparasitism is among important causes of reduced productivity of
indigenous chickens. This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence
and intensity of gastrointestinal (GI) parasites in apparently healthy free
range chickens slaughtered at various live bird markets in Nairobi County,
Kenya.
The 131 sampled chickens
of both sexes originated from 8 counties with
varying agro-climatic conditions. Worm egg and coccidial
oocyst counts were performed on fecal materials from each bird while worms
collected from the GI tracts were identified and quantified. Many chickens
had adult GI helminths (90%), but only a few of these (14%) had coccidial
oocysts. Nematodes were the predominant helminths (89%) followed by cestodes
(51.5%) but no trematodes were recovered. The nematodes recovered were:
Heterakis isolonche (59.5%), Subulura brumpti
(36%), Tetrameres americana (32%),Ascaridia galli
(19.8%), Gongylonema ingluvicola (19.1%),Acuaria hamulosa
(6.1%), Heterakis gallinarum (5.3%) andCapillaria spp.
(2.3%). The cestodes recovered were: Raillietina echinobothrida
(37.7%), Hymenolepis carioca
(33.6%), Davainea proglottina (6.9%), R. tetragona (6.1%)
and R. cesticillus (2.3%). Other endoparasites encountered were the
air-sac mite, Cytodites nudus (15.3%), Sacocystis
spp. (5.6%) and Syngamus trachea (4%). The results of this study
showed that GI parasites are prevalent and may pose health problems in
apparently healthy free range chickens. The parasites economic importance
should be investigated and control strategies initiated to improve the
health and productivity of indigenous chickens in Kenya.
Key words: Ascaridia galli, counties, helminths, Heterakis spp., Raillietina spp. sexes
Authors: A N Maina, R M Waruiru, P G Mbuthia, W K Munyua, R O Otieno and M N Mutune
Full article: Prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in indigenous chickens slaughtered at live bird markets of Nairobi County, Kenya