In vitro and In vivo Efficacy of Anticoccidial Drugs Against Mixed Eimeria Species of Chickens Collected from Poultry Farms in Bishoftu Town
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2024
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Abeba University
Abstract
Handling of the highly productive exotic breeds of chicken is seriously constrained by widespread diseases, of which coccidiosis poses a persistent challenge. Management of poultry coccidiosis caused by Eimeria species is heavily dependent on strict biosecurity practices and use of anticoccidial drugs; drug resistance being a limiting factor. This study, therefore aimed at assessing the efficacy of anticoccidial drugs commonly used in commercial poultry farms in and around Bishoftu. The curative drugs, Amprolium (AMPRO), Toltrazuril (TOLTRA) and Koksidex (KOKSI) made the targets of the study. Oocysts of mixed species were isolated from fecal droppings collected from poultry farms, propagated on chicken and purified for in vitro incubation with 28mg/ml AMPROand KOKSI. Sporulation potentials of the oocysts were evaluated against the untreated control. For the in vivo study, a randomized control trial was done on 150, dayold
Cobb500 breed of broiler chicken. At the end of the 2nd week of age,chicken were divided into five treatment groups. Each group was penned in triplicates of 10 chickens (30/group). Accordingly, Groups AMPRO, KOKSI and TOLTRA Received 1.5x105 /chicken sporulated oocysts and then started treatment on the 6th day of infection. Group POSC was infected with the same number but left untreated while group NEGC served as a non-infected non-treated control. Clinical observations, body weight measurements, ococyst count, mortality and lesion scores were monitored until day 9 post treatment (PT). Using these parameters efficacy status of the drugs was determined based on four major indices: anticoccidial index (ACI), reduction of oocysts production (ROP), reduction of lesion score (RLS) and percent optimumanticoccidial activity (POAA). The findings revealed: 1) KOKSI had significantly inhibited sporulation of Eimeria oocysts, 2) body weight gain was not different among infected groups irrespective of treatment but significantly lower than that of the NEGC (P,0.05), 3) nine days PT, fecal oocysts count was significantly reduced in KOKSI group compared to other infected groups, 4) on day 9PT, survival rate was better with TOLTRA, 5) nine days PT, lesion scores did not significantly differ between treated and untreated groups, 6) with cut off values of 160 for ACI, 15 for ROP, 50 for RLS and 50 for POAA, strong resistance was detected against AMPRO and TOLTRA. On the other hand, with RLS value of 50 (≥50) and ROP value of 0.3 (<15), but failing in the other two indices, KOKSI developed moderate resistance. In conclusion, anticoccidial drug resistance is evident in poultry farms ofBishoftu. It is recommended to pose the use of Amprolium and Toltrazuril, prudently apply Koksidex and strengthen biosecurity protocols to limit health and production
impacts of the disease
Description
Keywords
amprolium, efficacy, Eimeria, in vitro, in vivo, koksidex, poultry, toltrazuril