Tilak Chandra Nath
Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Science,
Sylhet
Agricultural University, Bangladesh
E-mail: tilak.parasitology@sau.ac.bd
Md. Jamal Uddin Bhuiyan
Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Science,
Sylhet
Agricultural University, Bangladesh
E-mail: bhuiyanmju.dpp@sau.ac.bd
Submission: 25/07/2016
Accept: 01/08/2016
ABSTRACT
The blood protozoa
of two important domestic birds namely chickens (Gallus domesticus) and pigeon (Columba livia) reared in
the hilly areas of Bangladesh were studied. A total of 400 birds (200 chicken and
200 pigeons) were examined of which 149 (37.3%)
[95% CI] birds
were found infected by one or more
haemoprotozoan parasites. Haemoprotozoa belonging to three genera were
identified. Pigeon 80 (40%) was recorded more susceptible to haemoprotozoa
infection than chicken 69 (34.5%). 118
birds (29.5%) were found to be infected with single
infection where as mixed infections were
found in 31 birds (7.8%). The prevalence of blood protozoa in female birds
(69.5%) was found significantly higher (p ≤
0.0001) [95% CI]
than male birds (5%). Within the study period, the prevalence rate of
Haemoprotozoa was 60.6% in summer season,
36.7% in rainy and 23% winter seasons. This
study has archived a high prevalence of haemoparasites, henceforth encourage
further to determine the effect of contamination on the productivity and
profitability of these birds, and evaluation of cost-benefit of various control strategies need to be undertaken.
Keywords: Prevalence, Haemoproteus,
Plasmodium,Leucocytozoon
1. INTRODUCTION
Bangladesh is a developing nation
where poultry industry is a rising sector. Being an integrated part of
the livestock sector, poultry farming plays an important role in the agro-based economy of Bangladesh (MINISTRY
OF LIVESTOCK; FISHERIES, 2012). The
increasing demand for animal protein and
the economic benefit obtained through raising
of poultry in both scavenging and semi-scavenging condition have created a great deal of interest among the farmers in
this country (LATIF, 2001). Poultry
keeping is one of the most appropriate income generating activities for rural
women especially for landless and marginal farmers which employs about 5
million people (BLRI, 2015).
Poultry production in Bangladesh
specifically includes chickens, pigeon, ducks, quail, swan and guinea fowl.
Chicken and Pigeon productions however,
make up the main component of the
commercial poultry. The production of backyard chicken and pigeon under
the semi-scavenging system is found
suitable to the villagers as an additional
source of income and nutrient supplement (LATIF, 2001). The total population of
poultry in our country is about 252.31 million where the chicken population is 256.78
million. However, there is no definite statistics in pigeon population (BLRI,
2015).
Several health problems can affect
chicken and pigeon, but parasitic
infections play a major role. Blood parasites have been the subject of extensive research since the
beginning of the 20th century. Haemoprotozoa infection is common in the domestic
birds but poorly studied in Bangladesh (THE
RAFFLES BULLETIN OF ZOOLOGY, 2008). Some researchers reported haemoprotozoa of different species in poultry
in Bangladesh (MOMIN, 2014; DEY et al., 2010).
But the number of work regarding distribution
or prevalence of these parasites is very limited. Such information is crucial
in the implementation of a disease control programme hence improvements in
the productivity of indigenous free-ranging
chicken and pigeon. This study is designed and conducted to investigate the
type and prevalence of haemoparasites infection in
indigenous free-ranging chickens, and pigeon in
different hilly
areas in Bangladesh, and the
data will assist in identifying the host infectivity prevalence and contribute
to a long term database on the occurrence of these parasites.
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS
A total of 400 birds (200 indigenous
chickens and 200 pigeons) with matching for sex were purposively randomly
selected from four (4) different hilly districts of Bangladesh (Sylhet,
Hobigonj, Khagrachari and Bandarban)
during January to December 2014.
Sex was determined subjectively
based on the length of spur and flexibility of the xiphoid cartilage together
with information from the farmers. Three (3) thin blood smears were prepared
from each bird, processed and examined for haemoprotozoa. Blood collection
samples from same chickens and pigeon were collected from the wing vein using a
1ml syringe. The skin was hosed with alcohol to disinfect the area and make the
vein noticeable.
The blood was straightforwardly
transferred into labelled test tubes containing anticoagulant (EDTA) and
transported to the Laboratory of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary and Animal
Science, Sylhet Agricultural University, Bangladesh for staining and
identification. In the laboratory, blood samples were processed using thin
blood smear to detect and identify parasites. A drop of blood was put on a
clean grease free glass slide.
A thin smear was made and allowed to
dry. It was then fixed in alcohol and then stained with Giemsa stain. Slides
were subjected to a microscopic examination and result was recorded.
Haemoparasites were identified according to guidelines described by Levine
(1985) and Soulsby (1982). The specific data was collected directly from the
farmer by a structured questionnaire. The data was analyzed using STATA-13
statistical package. The association between sex and infection status was
evaluated using the chi-squared test. A p value less than 0.05 was considered
statistically significant.
3. RESULTS
The research showed that out of the
400 birds examined, 149 (37.3%) were infected with at least one out of three
species of Haemoprotozoa. The study revealed a significant difference between haemoparasite
species values either single or mixed infected in both chicken and pigeon (p ≤
0.003) with no significant difference between species of birds (p ≤ 0.139) with
the highest value for Pigeon 80 (40%) followed by Chicken 69 (34.5%). Some of
the birds were singly infected while others had multiple infections. Chicken
higher prevalence of Leucocytozoon species whereas Pigeon had a higher
infection with Haemoproteus species (table 1).
In chicken, three genera of
Haemoparasites comprising Haemoproteus spp 5 (2.5%), Plasmodium spp 21 (10.5%),
and Leucocytozoon spp 29 (14.5%) was found, while non-infected birds were 131
(65.5%) (Table-1). Mixed infection was recorded comprising Plasmodium spp and
Leucocytozoon spp 13(6.5%) and Plasmodium spp and Haemoproteus spp 1 (0.5%).
No triple infection (Plasmodium spp +
Heamoproteus spp + Leucocytozoon spp) was found in case of chicken. In pigeon, infection with Haemoproteus spp was
more prevalent 49 (24.5%) followed by infection with Plasmodium spp 11 (5.5%).
Only 3 (1.5%) cases of Leucocytozoon was recorded. For the double infection,
Plasmodium spp and Haemoproteus spp 9 (4.5%), Haemoproteus spp and
Leucocytozoon spp 2 (1%) and Plasmodium spp and Leucocytozoon spp 1 (0.5%)
while for triple infection (Plasmodium spp + Heamoproteus spp + Leucocytozoon
spp), was 5 (2.5 %) (Table-1).
Table 1: Prevalence
of Haemoprotozoa in Chicken & Pigeon
(single or mixed infection)
Species |
Haemoprotozoa occurrence in birds* |
Number of birds infected with Haemoprotozoa |
Percentage prevalence rate (%) |
Overall Prevalence (n=400) |
Chicken (n=200) |
Only P |
21 |
10.5 |
34.5% |
Only L |
29 |
14.5 |
||
Only H |
5 |
2.5 |
||
Both P+L |
13 |
6.5 |
||
Both P+H |
1 |
0.5 |
||
Both L+H |
0 |
0 |
||
Triple H+ P+L |
0 |
0 |
||
Pigeon (n=200) |
Only P |
11 |
5.5 |
40% |
Only L |
3 |
1.5 |
||
Only H |
49 |
24.5 |
||
Both P+L |
1 |
0.5 |
||
Both P+H |
9 |
4.5 |
||
Both L+H |
2 |
1 |
||
Triple H+ P+L |
5 |
2.5 |
* P=Plasmodium spp., L=Leucocytozoon spp., H= Haemoproteus spp.
The results of haemoprotozoa
infections of the chickens according to their sexes and season are presented in
table 2. Regarding the sex of infected birds, results showed that female birds
were more infected 139 (69.5%) than males 10 (5%) with significant difference
(p ≤0.0001). No significant difference was found between positive seasonal cases distribution (p ≥0.067), which
shows infections in summer 91 (60.6%) was the highest than rainy 55 (36.7%)
followed by winter 23 (23%) (Table-2).
Table 2: Prevalence of Haemoprotozoa According to
Sex and Seasonal Condition
Variable |
Sex and Season |
Number of birds infected with Haemoprotozoa |
No. (%) infected
with Haemoprotozoa |
Chicken |
Male (n=100) |
7 |
7 |
Female(n=100) |
62 |
62 |
|
Pigeon |
Male(n=100) |
3 |
3 |
Female(n=100) |
77 |
22 |
|
Overall |
Male
(n=200) |
10 |
5 |
Female
(n=200) |
139 |
69.5 |
|
Season |
Summer (n=150) |
91 |
60.6 |
Rainy (n=150) |
55 |
36.7 |
|
Winter (n=100) |
23 |
23 |
4. DISCUSSION:
Haemoprotozoa is continuously
circulating around the universe. Prevalence of haemoparaites was reported high
in human in hilly areas of Bangladesh but
a review of the literature did not give prior information as regards the
prevalence of haemoparasites in birds. Results obtained from this study exposed
the presence of three haemoparasites (Plasmodium spp, Leucocytozoon spp and Haemoproteus spp) that were found to
infect both chicken and pigeon in the study areas.
Mixed infections of these
haemoparasites were also found. The findings of this study are supported by the
study of Tiwari
et al. (2012) in West Indies, Dey et al. (2010) in Bangladesh and Sadiq et al.
(2003) in Nigeria, they reported the same three haemoprotozoa (Plasmodium spp, Leucocytozoon
spp and Haemoproteus spp) during their
study. Similar findings were also reported by Permin et al. (2002) in Zimbabwe,
Bennett et al. (1975) in Nova Scotia and
Gulanber et al. (2002) in Istanbul.
Prevalence of haemoparasites in
birds in this study was found to be 37.3%. These findings are below than the
findings of previous studies done by Valkiûnas et al. (2005) who documented the
prevalence of avian blood parasites in Uganda to be 61.9%, and Njunga et al.
(2003) in Malawi found the prevalence of haemoparasites in birds to be 71%.
Their reported prevalence was higher, likely because they used molecular
methods to detect parasites, which are known to be more sensitive. Another
reason for this variation might be due to the variation in the geographical
distribution, climatic condition, management system of poultry, and
availability of vector.
Variations in the prevalence of
infection in different bird families have been reported in this study. Pigeon
harbors more haemoprotozoa than chicken. Mixed occurrence of blood parasite was
also high in pigeons in compared to chicken. Momin (2014) also reported almost
similar result during his investigation of blood protozoa in poultry in
Tangail, Bangladesh. The difference in the prevalence may involve behavioral
perspective or some physiological conditions characteristic for the species
that may make the host more or less vulnerable to the parasites (Elahi et al,
2014; NATH et al, 2014).
In the present study, there were no
significance differences in occurrences among chicken and pigeon but a
significant association between sex and haemoprotozoa infection was detected.
Senlik et al. (2005) were unable to detect a
significant difference in the infection rate of this parasite in terms of host
sex. However, the reason for different prevalence across bird’s sexes was not
clear because there were no documented studies on the comparisons between
sexes, hence should be studied further.
In this study, the prevalence of Leukocytozoon was found higher in chicken
than pigeon. Very few data is available
to explain the prevalence of Leukocytozoon in chickens as well as pigeons. Mamud
et al. (2012) in Nigeria reported the prevalence of Leukocytozoon in pigeon was
3% while Mbuthia et al. (2011) in Kenya reported 31.6% of Leucocytozoon in
chicken.
The high prevalence of Plasmodium in
Chicken was detected in compare to Pigeon which are supported by the study
carried out by Mamud et al. (2012) in Nigeria, Mbuthia et al (2011) in Kenya, Akinpelu
(2008) in Africa, Sehgal et al. (2006) in Ivorycoast and Valkiunas et al. (2004)
in Northwestern Costa Rica. Mamud et al. (2012) in Nigeria reported 30%
prevalence of Plasmodium in pigeon while Mbuthia et al. (2011) in Kenya
reported 29.8% of Plasmodium in chicken. The higher prevalence of Plasmodium
was possibly due to the high abundance of its vectors (mosquito) in the study
areas.
The prevalence of Haemoproteus found
in this study was higher in pigeon than chicken. These findings are supported
by the findings of Tiwari et al. (2012), Mamud et al. (2012),
Mbuthia et al. (2011), Permin et al. (2002) and Sehgal et al. (2005).
This study was also conducted
throughout the year where higher prevalence was recorded during the summer
season which provides a very conducive environment for the breeding and
proliferation of the arthropod vectors (OLAYEMI et al. 2014). The mosquito
breeding rate generally is high during summer
season in Bangladesh. This important role of seasonal impact on vector and the
haemoparasite spread could be used as a vital tool in the institution of
preventive and control measures for both chicken and pigeon.
Apart from rainfall and differences
in habitat composition, differences in prevalence may be influenced by
proximity to breeding for vectors, relative levels of host resistance, local
temperature differences, time of collection during the day and age of host
among the others (OLAYEMI et al, 2014;
NATH et al, 2014).
5. CONCLUSION
Three genera of blood parasites were
present, which include Haemoproteus, Plasmodium, and Leucocytozoon. This study
documented that there is a high prevalence of haemoprotozoa infection in
apperantly healthy looking indigenous chicken and pigeon. However, further
study with a greater sample size is necessary to assess the intensity of the
infection more accurately.
Predisposing factors to
haemoprotozoa infection also need to be examined. What's more, the only tests
used in this study was microscopy which has a very limited specificity, and therefore more obtrusive tests
need to be used. Identification of different species of this blood protozoon
among chicken and pigeon not only will generate knowledge but also help in
developing strategies for successful control programs.
6. ETHICAL APPROVAL
Approval for this study was obtained
from the Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Science,
Sylhet Agricultural University, Bangladesh before the implementation of the
study. Birds were extracted from the traps as soon as possible after collecting
blood sample. All the samples were
collected by the corresponding author (registered veterinarians). Blood
collected from each bird was less than 1% of the body weight.
7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to acknowledge Dr.
Shafiul Alam, Associate Scientist, International Centre for Diarrheal Disease
Research, Bangladesh for his guidance, contribution and logistic supports during
the course of this study. Local guides and smallholder farmers from various
villages in Chittagong and Sylhet division where the samples were collected are
appreciated for their indefatigable support and cooperation while sourcing for
the study material.
8. COMPETING INTERESTS
There is no conflict of interest
declared by any of the authors.
9. AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
The study was supervised by Md.
Jamal Uddin Bhuiyan while the design of the study, field experiments, data
analysis and writing of the manuscript was performed by Tilak Chandra Nath.
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