Ectoparasitism of commercial laying hen by Megninia ginglymura (Mégnin) (Acari): population dynamic and distribution on the body regions

Abstract

Ectoparasites are temporary or permanent skin dwellers. Megninia ginglymura (Mégnin) (Analgidae) causes economic damage in commercial poultry farms as a result of lower egg production or even death of the host. Little is known about Megninia ginglymura's life cycle and infestation. This study aimed to evaluate the preference of M. ginglymura for different body regions of the host Gallus gallus L. and its abundance and population dynamics in different laying hen houses. Samples were collected from August 2013 to August 2014 in three different commercial laying hen systems: automatic production systems (A1,2,3); semiautomatic systems (S1 (free of pesticides) and S2) and free-range system (FR). Ten laying hen were sampled each laying hen house and it were collected feathers were collected from different body regions form 10 hens in each laying house. A total of 28,305 specimens belonging to M. ginglymura were collected. Higher abundance was noted in S1 (9,234), S2 (9,121), and FR (5,873) and lower in A2 (2,211), A3 (1,628), and A1 (238). The dorsum (back of the body) region showed the highest abundance, mean abundance, and prevalence, representing 29.5% of the total specimens collected. The cloacal region was the second with 21.1% of the total of this ectoparasite. The abdomen and neck represented 20.8% and 19.6%, respectively. The inner wings presented the lowest abundance, mean abundance, and prevalence in all laying hen houses (9.0% of specimens). The prevalence was significantly different in automatic, semiautomatic, and free-range systems. The population peaks seems to coincide with periods of high temperatures and precipitation. Populations of this species already exhibit resistance to synthetic chemical pesticide.

Prevalensi, Derajat Infeksi dan Sebaran Tungau Ayam pada Peternakan Ayam Petelur di Pulau Jawa

“…Setiap tahunnya di Florida terdapat laporan tentang O. bursa yang menyerang manusia dan menyebabkan iritasi kulit berkepanjangan dan dermatitis (Denmark dan Cromroy, 2012). Tungau O. bursa pada ayam merupakan tungau penghisap darah yang menyebabkan anemia, penurunan bobot badan, produksi telur, kualitas telur, bintik-bintik pada telur, bulu tidak simetris, dan kematian secara tiba-tiba pada anak ayam yang baru menetas (Santillan et al, 2015;Horn et al, 2017;Tucci et al, 2005).…”

“…Kerugian secara ekonomi akibat tungau jenis ini juga terjadi pada peternakan ayam komersial. Kerugian yang ditimbulkan mirip dengan kerugian akibat infeksi tungau hematofagus (O. bursa), yaitu berupa penurunan produksi telur (Horn et al, 2017). Penurunan produksi telur sebanyak 20% akibat infeksi M. cubitalis dilaporkan terjadi pada peternakan ayam petelur di Sao Paulo, Brasil, (Tucci et al 2005).…”

“…Bagian tubuh yang memiliki perbedaan signifikan adalah kepala-leher dan ekor (P<0.05). Hal ini sejalan dengan laporan Horn et al (2017) yang menyatakan bahwa daerah seputar kloaka merupakan bagian tubuh yang paling disukai M. ginglymura. Jenis tungau M. ginglymura menghabiskan seluruh hidupnya pada tubuh inang dan umumnya berada di atas permukaan kulit/tubuh.…”

Advances in Non-Chemical Tools to Control Poultry Hematophagous Mites

“…can be found throughout the environment [11][12][13]. The mites are transmitted through direct physical contact between animals, through indirect contact with instruments, cages, and materials infested with the mites, and through wild birds that frequent the laying hens and broilers houses [9,14,15]. These mites can also bite humans, causing ectoparasitic dermatitis [8,16,17].…”