Seasonal prevalence of coccidiosis in industrial broiler chickens in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan

The present paper reports the prevalence of coccidiosis in industrial broiler chickens in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan to determine the occurrence of different species of Eimeria in the area and to assess their correlation with the environmental conditions including temperature, humidity and rainfall. The study was conducted from January 2009 to December 2010. Examination of chicken guts revealed 43.89% (n= 3,283/7,480) prevalence of coccidiosis. The highest prevalence (27.04%) was recorded of Eimeria tenella followed by Eimeria maxima (22.42%), Eimeria acervulina (19.89%) and Eimeria necatrix (4.02%). The prevalence of disease was significantly higher (P<0.05) in autumn (60.02+/-4.38) followed by summer (47.42+/-2.92), spring (36.92+/-2.27) and winter (29.89+/-3.43). Likewise, prevalence of different species of Eimeria also varied (P<0.05) in different seasons of the year except that of E. necatrix. A strong correlation (P<0.05) of environmental conditions with the overall and species-wise prevalence of coccidiosis was recorded except E. necatrix.