No abstract

A cross-sectional prevalence study of gastrointestinal helminths in Danish poultry production systems was conducted on 268 adult chickens selected at random from 16 farms in Denmark from October 1994 to October 1995. The trachea and the gastrointestinal tract of each bird was examined for the presence of helminths. In the free-range/organic systems the following helminths were found: Ascaridia galli (63.8%), Heterakis gallinarum (72.5%), Capillaria obsignata (53.6%), Capillaria anatis (31.9%) and Capillaria caudinflata (1.5%). In the deep-litter systems: A. galli (41.9%), H. gallinarum (19.4%) and C. obsignata (51.6%). In the battery cages: A. galli (5%) and Raillietina cesticillus or Choanotaenia infundibulum (3.3%). Exact identification of the cestodes was not possible because of missing scolexices. In the broiler/parent system: C. obsignata (1.6%), and finally for the backyard system: A. galli (37.5%) H. gallinarum (68.8%), C. obsignata (50.0%), C. anatis (56.3%) and C. caudinflata (6.3%). The results confirm the higher risk of helminth infections in free-range and backyard systems but prevalence may also be high in deep litter systems.

No abstract

A cross-sectional study on the prevalence of helminths in rural scavenging poultry on six hundred adult chickens selected randomly from six villages in the Morogoro Region, Tanzania during the wet and the dry seasons, was conducted. The trachea and gastrointestinal tract of each bird were examined for the presence of parasites. All chickens were infected with one or several species of helminths, the average being 4.8 ±1.7 helminths per chicken during the wet season and 5.1 ± 1.8 during the dry season. A total of 29 different helminth species were shown in the trachea or the gastrointestinal tract. The following species were identified: Syngamus trachea (0.7% (wet season), 2% (dry season)); Gongylonema ingluvicola (6.3%, 17.7%); Tetrameres americana (54.3%, 60.3%); Dispharynx nasuta (0%, 2.7%); Acuaria hamulosa (8.3%, 19.3%); Ascaridia galli (28.3%, 32.3%); Heterakis gallinarum (74.0%, 78.7%); H. isolonche (18.7%, 5.0%); H. dispar (25.7%, 6.3%); Allodapa suctoria (40.0%, 52.0%); Subulura strongylina (3.3%, 1.0%); Strongyloides avium (0.3%, 3.0%); Capillaria annulata (2.0%, 0.0%); C. contorta (9.0%, 1.0%); C. caudinflata (2.0%, 4.3%); C. obsignata (8.7%, 25.0%); C. anatis (4.0%, 9.0%); C. bursata (1.0%, 2.7%); Raillietina echinobothrida (41.3%, 46.3%); R. tetragona (25.3%, 21.3%); R. cesticillus (8.7%, 2.7%); Choanotaenia infundibulum (0.0%, 3.7%); Hymenolepis carioca (9.0%, 18.0%); H. cantaniana (48.0%, 43.0%); Amoebotaenia cuneata (39.3%, 36.0%); Metroliasthes lucida (1.0%, 0.3%); Davainea proglottina (5.7%, 0.3%) and Polymorphus boschadis (0.3%, 0.0%). No trematodes were found. No correlation was found between season and prevalence, or season and mean worm burdens. Twelve helminths of the species recovered represent new local records.

Common frogs (Rana temporaria) were exposed either to third-stage larvae (L3) or to first-stage larvae (L1) of Angiostrongylus vasorum. Following exposure to L3, viable larvae could be detected in the frogs for at least 2 weeks. Following exposure to L1, the frogs developed viable L3 in their tissues within 30 days. In a test of the infectivity of these larvae, one fox was fed frogs previously infected with L3 and another fox was fed frogs previously infected with L1. On autopsy it was found that adult A. vasorum populations had been established in both foxes. Thus, it could be concluded that frogs can act not only as paratenic hosts but also as intermediate hosts for A. vasorum.