Investigation the Prevalence of Common Parasitic Infections in Farmed Quails in Upper Egypt

Abstract

The present study was conducted to investigate the prevalence and identification of most common parasitic infections of quails and to determine their seasonal variation. One hundred diseased quails (60 quails in summer and 40 quails in winter) were obtained from quail farms in different localities of Assiut and El-menia Governorates and were examined for the presence of ectoparasites, endoparasites, intestinal protozoa, blood protozoa and parasites of other organs (lungs, brain and liver). Results revealed that neither ectoparasites nor macroscopic parasites were observed in the examined quails. Mainly, the encountered parasites were intestinal protozoa (44%), blood protozoa (25%) and parasites of other organs (28%). The overall parasitic infection rate in the examined quails was higher in cold season (57%) than warm season (53%). The intestinal protozoa were identified including Eimeria spp. (30%), Cryptosporidium spp. (19%), Tetratrichomonas galinarum (15%), Cyclospora spp. (4%), Isospora spp. (3%) and Microsporidia spp. (3%). The prevalence rate of intestinal protozoal infection was higher in warm season 46.6% (28 out of 60 examined birds) than cold seasons 40% (16 out of 40 examined birds). The incidence rate of mixed intestinal protozoal infection was higher (24.8%) than the single infection (18.8%). The blood protozoa were reported including Leucocytozoon spp. (9%), Babesiosoma spp. (8%), Aegyptianella spp. (7%), Plasmodium gallinaceum (4%), Haemoproteus spp. (4%), Atoxoplasma spp. (1%) and Ehrlichia spp. (1%). The prevalence of parasitic infection in other organs showed that respiratory tract (trachea and lung) infection with Cryptosporidium spp. (24%), hepatic histomoniasis (3%) and brain toxoplasmosis (7%).

Keywords

• blood protozoa
• extra-intestinal protozoa
• intestinal protozoa
• parasitic infection in quail.