TERM PAPER

on AS 724

POULTRY PARASITES AND DISEASES

Marie Cris G. Amerila MS Animal Science

ALTERNATIVE OPTION FOR THE CONTROL OF WORMS IN POULTRY

Basically, chickens get worms from something they eat. Either chickens eats an
infected droppings, from another bird, or chicken eats an insects carrying worm eggs
(earthworms, slugs, snail, grasshopper, fly, etc). a healthy chicken can manage
reasonable worm load. When the chicken get sicked or stressed, their immune system
is taxed and internal parasites have the opportunity to overpopulate. Worms inside
chicken aren’t always a problem, but when they are, they can cause disease, infection
and death. Poultry worms are likely to infect and can cause negative effects on overall
performances of birds throughout their production stage. It is important to be
familiarize and identify some alternative options in order to minimize or prevent them
from occurring.Aside from application of Ivermectin, an anti-parasite medication but
ineffective on some worm species like tapeworm and fluke, we have the list of
alternative option for the control of worms in poultry.

1) Worm eggs thrive in wet, warm, muddy areas. Remove the muddy areas such as
those found in pop-holes by creating hard standing or free draining gravel.

2) Worm eggs cannot develop when it is very dry, when the temperature is below
10℃ or above 35℃.

3) Worm eggs are destroyed by Ultra-violet Light (UV) from the sun. Keep grass
short and rotate pasture in the summer to help prevent a build up of worm eggs.
4) Do feed chickens properly. Limit treats to 5% of their daily diet and don’t add
ingredients to a quality commercial rations because doing so dilutes the carefully
calculated nutritional balance in the feed.

5) Don’t throw chicken feed or treats on the ground where it can become
contaminated with infected droppings.

6) Don’t overcrowd chickens in a coop or run.

7) Do keep feeders clean.

8) Do provide clean, fresh water daily and keep containers clean. Consider using a
poultry nipple drinker.

9) Do keep a clean coop. Don’t allow droppings to accumulate. Use of a droppings

board underneath roosts catches the night’s droppings, keeping litter cleaner,
longer and provides an opportunity to observe abnormalities such as worms.

10) Do keep stress to a minimum. Stress taxes a chicken immune system, allowing
worms to capitalize on the reduced resistance.

11) Do provide flock with a sunny, well drained yard.

12) Do rotate pasture/pens/yards periodically. Chickens raised month after month on

the same area at higher risk for contracting illness, disease and parasites than
properly pastured birds given access to clean ground regularly.

13) Do remove coop and pen litter & replace periodically to break parasites’ life
cycles.

14) Do contact Department of Agriculture Extension service poultry agent to discuss

environmental specifics in the area and if they do regular deworming program
 COMMON POULTRY PARASITES

Chickens are reluctant hosts to a number of parasites which can cause many
problems from minor irritation such as a reduction in egg-laying, all the way through
to, in extreme cases, death. Parasites are small creatures that live on or in chickens.
They are not beneficial to the chick en and can be very detrimental to their health.

Ascaridia spp. (approximately 40 species have been reported in birds)

One of the most common nematodes in birds. They are large (16 to 120 mm), thick
yellowish-white worms parasitizing the small intestine and sometimes the ceca of
susceptible hosts. Females are often larger than males. Ascarids have a simple, direct
life cycle. Nonembryonated, elliptical thick-walled single-cell eggs with fine granular
brownish contents and colorless shell (approximately 80 × 50 µm) are shed in feces
and embryonate in the environment with appropriate humidity and temperature in 2 to
3 weeks. Infective eggs hatch in the proventriculus or duodenum of the susceptible
host releasing second-stage larvae that will invade small intestine mucosa where they
molt to L3. Depending on the species and host, larvae either return to the intestinal
lumen where they molt and mature into adult worms or they may arrest their
development at certain stage (i.e., L3) to become the predominant form of the parasite
and become its reservoir throughout the life of the host. Ascarids may use transport or
paratenic hosts, such as earthworms or grasshoppers, but they do not develop or
accumulate in them.
 Heterakis spumosa

A member of the superfamily Subuluroidea and family Heterakidae (Soulsby,

1982). Members of this superfamily resemble members of the
superfamily Ascaridoidea. The male worms are 3.5 to 8 mm long with a distinct
spicule. The males have a preanal sucker with a chitinous rim. The females are 6.8 to
8 mm long. The eggs have a thick-walled, mammillated shell and measure 55 to 60 by
40 to 55 µm.
The lifecycle is direct. Unembryonated eggs are passed in the feces and become
infectious in 14 days under optimal conditions. Infection is by ingestion of infective
eggs that hatch in the stomach. The larvae then migrate to the cecum and colon where
they develop and mature. Eggs appear in the feces 26 to 47 days after infection (Smith,
1953). Modern methods of rodent colony management have made infection with H.
spumosa extremely rare.

H. spumosa is considered nonpathogenic in rats and mice, causing neither clinical

disease nor lesion development. Diagnosis of infection is based on demonstrating
eggs in the feces or adult worms in the large intestine. H. spumosa has been
eliminated from mice by combination therapy with febantal and pyrantel, but not with
either drug alone (Mehlhorn and Harder, 1997). It is likely that similar results would
follow treatment of infected rats. Prevention and control are by purchase of
parasite-free rats, and through strict adherence to good sanitation and facility
management practices.
 Capillaria spp.

Adhere to the villi of the intestinal mucosa and feed on epithelium and glandular
secretions, causing a catarrhal or fibrinous enteritis and mild anaemia. A poor general
condition and weight loss are observed, even when pigeons are infested with few of
these parasites. Heavily infested pigeons show diarrhea, vomiting and
emaciation. Ascaridia spp. are less pathogenic. In most cases, poor racing
performance is the only complaint in the owner’s anamnesis. In mass infestations, the
worms may migrate to the stomach and the oesophagus. Clinical signs in such pigeons
are similar to those seen in capillariosis.

Tetrameres spp. and Acuaria spp. can be found in

the proventriculus. Tetrameres are not very pathogenic and only lead to a poor general
condition. Acuaria, on the other hand, cause severe anaemia and a high mortality rate.

The pathological and clinical significance of cestode infestations is minimal.

Echinostoma spp. cause haemorrhagic enteritis in young pigeons (squabs).

Capillariasis is a parasitic disease in humans caused by two different species of
capillarids: Capillaria hepatica and Capillaria philippinensis. C. hepatica is
transferred through the fecal matter of infected animals and can lead to hepatitis. C.
philippinensis is transferred through ingesting infected small freshwater fish and can
lead to diarrhea and emaciation.
Images: Left: Longitudinal section of an adult of C. philippinensis from an intestinal biopsy specimen stained with
hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) Middle: Egg of C. philippinensis in stool. Right: A cross-section through eggs of C.
hepatica in liver tissue. (Credit: DPDx)

Eimeria spp.

These protozoa are known as the enteric coccidia; monoxenous (one-host)

parasites in the digestive tracts of herbivores or carnivores causing diarrheal disease
(known as coccidiosis). Parasites form environmentally-resistant oocysts which
undergo faecal-oral transmission between hosts. There are three sequential stages in
the parasite life-cycle: endogenous multiplication by asexual merogony (variously
known as schizogony) followed by sexual gamogony (♂ microgametes fertilize ♀
macrogametes producing oocysts) which are excreted and undergo asexual sporogony
(forming sporocysts containing infective sporozoites). Many genera are recognized on
the basis of oocyst configuration (the number of sporocysts per oocyst, and the
number of sporozoites per sporocyst).
Seven species of Eimeria are known to infect chickens: E. acervulina, E. brunetti, E. maxima, E. mitis, E. necatrix, E. praecox, and
E. tenella. Eimeria oocysts vary in size, with E. maxima being the largest (about 20 x 30 microns) and E. mitis the smallest (about
14 x 16 microns). The oocysts are discernable only by use of a compound microscope.

Strongyloides spp.

It is a genus containing some 50 species of obligate gastrointestinal parasites of

vertebrates (Speare, 1989). Strongyloides infects mammals, birds, reptiles and
amphibians. Where investigated, most species appear to be able to infect one, or at
most a very few, host species. Indeed, in many cases the specific designation may
have been attributed largely by the host species in which the parasite was found. This
degree of host-species specificity is not unusual among animal parasitic nematodes.
For most nematodes that parasitise the vertebrate gastrointestinal tract, male and
female worms live in the host gut and the females lay eggs which pass out of the host
in faeces. Depending on the species, these eggs, or infective larvae that develop from
them, are eaten (eggs or larvae) or penetrate host skin (larvae) to achieve transmission
to a new host. There is then a period of larval migration within the new host before
new adults establish in the gut. Strongyloides follows this basic plan, but with
significant differences. Female-only adult worms form the parasitic stages
of Strongyloides. In addition, there is a dioecious adult generation that occurs outside
of the host (Schad, 1989). This free-living adult generation is almost unique among
nematode parasites of vertebrates. Originally the parasitic and free-living adult
generations of Strongyloides were described as distinct species of Anguillula (Bavay,
1876; Bavay, 1877) until they were discovered to be separate stages of one life-cycle
when they were brought together as Strongyloides (Grassi, 1879).

First Stage larva (L1) of S.stercoralis

Strongyloides (a) and Ascaridia (b) spp.
eggs detected in layer chickens in Leyte,
Philippines.

Heterakis gallinarum

A nematode parasite that lives in the cecum of some galliform birds, particularly
in ground feeders such as domestic chickens and turkeys. It causes infection that is
mildly pathogenic. However, it often carries a protozoan parasite Histomonas
meleagridis which causes of histomoniasis (blackhead disease).Transmission of H.
meleagridis is through the H. gallinarum egg. H. gallinarum is about 1–2 cm in length
with a sharply pointed tail and a preanal sucker. The parasite is
a diecious species with marked sexual dimorphism. Males are smaller and shorter,
measuring around 9 mm in length, with a unique bent tail. Females are stouter and
longer, measuring roughly 13 mm in length, with a straight tail end.

SEM image of the head

Raillietina tetragona

(synonym Taenia tetragona Molin) is a parasitic tapeworm belonging to

the class Cestoda. It is a cosmopolitan helminth of the small
intestine of pigeon, chicken and guinea fowl, and is found throughout the world.

It is a very typical of cestode with striking resemblance to other species of Raillietina.

Its identifying features are, therefore, mainly on the neck and scolex structures. In
addition, it is relatively large, and requires ant as intermediate host to complete its life
cycle.

R. tetragona is the largest among avian tapeworms, measuring up to 30 cm in length

and 1-1.5 cm in breadth. It is whitish in colour, highly
elongated, dorso-ventrally flattened, and entirely covered with a tegument. The body
is divisible into the head region called 'scolex', followed by an unsegmented 'neck',
and then by highly segmented body proper called strobila. The strobila is composed of
a series of ribbon-like body segments called proglottids, gradually enlarging from the
anterior end towards the posterior. The scolex bears an apical rounded rostellum,
which is armed with 100 minute hooks, arranged in single row. This is surrounded by
four suckers which are lined with 5-6 rows of spines. The most important diagnostic
characters in comparison to other species are oval scolex and suckers, with relatively
elongated neck.

R. tetragona is strictly hermaphroditic having a complete reproductive system in itself.

Each mature proglottid has a set of male and female reproductive organ and genital
pores on one side. Testes are located on both sides of the ovary and behind vitellarium.
Each egg capsule contained 4-12 eggs and many calcareous corpuscles, each of which
is surrounded by a membrane. The male reproductive system matures first. As the two
reproductive systems matured, the proglottids became gravid after fertilization.

LICE, FLEAS AND TICKS

Ectoparasite serves as vector of zoonotic and economic diseases, and degrades

the welfare of animal. A gap of knowledge concerning ectoparasite fauna has
remained in livestock, poultry, companion and exotic animals in Philippines where
limited record existed and none in remote regions such as in Leyte Island, Philippines.
A total of 577 ectoparasites were collected, processed and identified morphologically.
There were 19 different species identified: 14 lice, 2 fleas, and 3 ticks. Chicken lice
recorded were Goniocotes gallinae, Goniodes dissimilis, Lipeurus caponis,
Oxylipeurus dentatus, Menopon gallinae, and Menacanthus stramineus. Lice isolated
from rock pigeon and turkey were Columbicola columbae and Chelopistes
meleagridis, respectively. Damalinia caprae and Linognathus spp. were observed in
goats; D. ovis in sheep; Heterodoxus spinigera in dog; Haematopinus tuberculatus in
both carabao and cattle; and H. suis in pig. Fleas isolated from dogs were
Ctenocephalides felis and Pulex irritans, the former was also seen in cat.
Rhipicephalus sanguineus, R. microplus and Aponomma spp. were recorded from dog,
large ruminant and reticulated python, respectively. Knowledge in ectoparasite
distribution and taxonomic composition will lead to better understanding of vector
and vector-borne diseases. This will result in the improvement of diagnosis,
prevention and control strategies in the region.
Figure 1. Avian lice collected in Baybay, Leyte, Philippines. (A) Columbicola
columbae, (B) Lipeurus caponis, (C) Oxylipeurus spp., (D) Menacanthus stramineus,
(E) Chelopistes meleagridis, (F) Menopon gallinae, (G) Goniodes dissimilis, (H)
Goniocotes gallinae. Magnification: 100x
REFERENCES

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6303491/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/ascaridia

https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/capillaria/index.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eimeria#/media/File:Emaxima_oocysts_usda.jpg

https://parasite.org.au/para-site/text/eimeria-text.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterakis_gallinarum

http://wormbook.org/chapters/www_genomesStrongyloides/genomesStrongyloides.ht
ml

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11250-019-01982-3

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279524280_Different_species_of_lice_Phth
iraptera_fleas_Siphonaptera_and_ticks_Ixodida_collected_from_livestock_poultry_re
ptile_and_companion_animal_in_Leyte_Island_Philippines