Coccidiosis: A threat to the poultry industry in Plateau State, Nigeria

Abstract

A five-year (2015 - 2019) retro-analysis of diagnostic records of the Helminthology laboratory, National Veterinary Research Institute, Vom was conducted to determine the prevalence of coccidiosis and mortality rates in poultry in Plateau state, Nigeria. From the total of 1346 intestinal tissues processed, 561 (41.7%) were positive for Eimeria spp. oocysts. Significantly (p<0.05) higher prevalence of coccidiosis was recorded during the wet season than the dry season (55% and 35.5%). Overall, in both seasons, layer farms had significantly higher  (p<0.05) prevalence than broiler farms. Higher percent mean mortality was observed in the Eimeria spp. infected flocks compared to negative flocks (8% and 6.3%), although the difference was not significant (p=0.15). Generally, the mean percent mortality was higher in wet season than the dry season regardless of the infection status of the farms. More attention should be paid to the control of coccidiosis in poultry farms in Plateau state, through appropriate management and instituting bio-security measures in order to reduce the effects of the disease.