Intestinal helminthiasis of chickens (Gallus gallus domestica) slaughtered at Sokoto Vegetable Market, Sokoto State, Nigeria

Abstract

In this study, 200 intestinal tracts of slaughtered local chickens were collected and processed through dissecting method. The parasites recovered were isolated and microscopically examined for species identification. The samples collected were found to be infected with nematodes (Ascaridia galli, Heterakis gallinarum, Capillaria caudinflata,) and cestodes (Hymenolepis carioca, Raillietina cesticillus, R. tetragona, R. echinobothrida). The overall prevalence of 78.5% was obtained from the study. Chickens with mixed infections were found to have the highest prevalence of 35.0%, followed by those infected with only nematodes has the prevalence of 23.0%, the least prevalence of 20.5% was recorded in those infected with cestodes. However, a chi-square analysis indicated a significant association between gender and age of the birds and infection with helminthes. Males were found to have the highest prevalence of 47.2% in both infections with nematodes alone and in mixed infections, than females, while in prevalence of infection with cestodes female had the highest prevalence of 52.9% than males. In age related prevalence, age group 5-7 months had the highest prevalence of 42.5% than in the other age groups. The results of this study have shown that chicken slaughtered at Sokoto Vegetable Market were infested with intestinal helminths, and therefore, Government intervention is highly needed to effectively prevent and control the infection with helminthes parasites by local chickens.

Keywords: Local chickens; intestinal helminthes infections; vegetable market, Sokoto