A Retrospective Study on Chicken Coccidiosis in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

Coccidiosis in poultry is still considered one of the main diseases affecting performance of poultry reared under intensive production systems. So many diagnostic methods are known to exist with some been too expensive. Although a lot of research efforts have been allocated towards molecular techniques, with a lot of progress made in this field, practical use of these techniques are not available today, except in the field of diagnostics, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for chicken Eimeria spp. are available, but not yet in common use. Ilorin, Kwara State capital also referred to as the ˜gate way State due to its location between the Northern and Southern parts of Nigeria located on longitude N8^o 30 0 and latitude E 5^o 0 0 8.5 / 5 is not left out of this invasion by coccidiosis. Suspected cases are submitted to the National Veterinary Research Institutes (N.V.R.I) laboratory, Ilorin, Kwara State, for diagnosis. Based on the history presented and clinical signs of bloody (diarrhea) feces and carcasses/moribund birds, post mortem examination and microscopy were considered as the best option used to confirm diagnosis. At post mortem, lesions were noticed from the serosal and the mucosal surfaces of the intestines after a careful examination of the carcasses. Some of the lesions observed included; enteritis of the anterior one third, the middle and the posterior one third of the intestine depending on the type of coccidia and these used to be characterized by hyperemia, necrosis of the intestinal mucosa and bloody feces in the lumen, thus serving as pointer to the presence of the disease, and this is complimented by microscopy to observe for, gamonts, schizonts and oocysts usually with a lot of successes recorded.