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Prevalence and molecular characterization of Eimeria species affecting backyard poultry of Jammu region, North India

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Abstract

The present study was conducted from January 2018 to December 2019 to know the prevalence of coccidiosis in backyard poultry in Jammu, Samba, and Udhampur districts of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, North India. A total of 600 pooled fecal samples collected from backyard poultry were examined for presence of Eimeria oocysts. Morphometry and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)-based amplification of ITS-1 gene was carried to characterize the Eimeria species infecting the backyard poultry of the study area. An overall prevalence of 28.5% Eimeria spp. infection among backyard poultry birds was recorded. Among the seasons, highest prevalence was recorded during rainy season (32%) with significantly (p < 0.05) high oocyst excretion (1.77 ± 0.01) and lowest during summer (19.3%) with low oocyst excretion (0.17 ± 0.006). Young birds up to 3 months of age were found to be more susceptible to infection than older birds, with a significantly (p < 0.05) high prevalence percentage of 38.02. Morphometry with COCCIMORPH software revealed presence of Eimeria tenella, Eimeria necatrix, Eimeria acervulina, and Eimeria maxima species with prevalence rates of 27.6%, 21.3%, 16.5%, and 3.6%, respectively. The amplified fragments of ITS-1 gene presented different sizes of Eimeria spp. viz. E. acervulina (321 bp), E. tenella (278 bp), E. maxima (145 bp), and E. necatrix (383 bp). The study concluded that although backyard poultry did not show clinical form of coccidiosis, it may act as source of potential reservoir.

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Availability of data and materials

The data sets generated during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

The financial support was provided by Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi under grant number DST No: SEED/TIME/003/2014 and Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi as part of ICAR National Fellow scheme under grant number F.No.Ag.Edn/27/06/NF/2017-HRD. The authors Rajesh Katoch and Anish Yadav have received research support from NABARD and ICAR, respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Veterinary Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, Sher-E-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu, RS Pura, Jammu, UT of Jammu and Kashmir, 181102, India

    Aiman Khursheed, Anish Yadav, Omer Mohi-U.-Din Sofi, Anand Kushwaha, Vikas Yadav, Shafiya I. Rafiqi, Rajesh Godara & Rajesh Katoch

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  1. Aiman Khursheed
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  2. Anish Yadav
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Contributions

All authors have read and approved the manuscript. Aiman Khursheed undertook literature search, material preparation, data collection, and analysis. Anish Yadav conceptualized and designed the study and aided in manuscript preparation, editing, and review and grant arrangement. Omer Mohi-U-Din Sofi, Anand Kushwaha, Vikas Yadav, Shafiya I. Rafiqi, and Rajesh Godara assisted in data collection, analysis, and manuscript preparation. Rajesh Katoch reviewed the final manuscript and brought part of the grants.

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Correspondence to Anish Yadav.

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Khursheed, A., Yadav, A., Sofi, O.MUD. et al. Prevalence and molecular characterization of Eimeria species affecting backyard poultry of Jammu region, North India. Trop Anim Health Prod 54, 296 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-022-03290-9

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