Adenaike A S, Peters S O, Adeleke M A, Fafiolu A O, Takeet M I, Ikeobi C O N
Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria.
Department of Animal Science, Berry College, Mount Berry, GA, 30149, USA.
Trop Anim Health Prod. 2018 Jun;50(5):1161-1166. doi: 10.1007/s11250-018-1547-1. Epub 2018 Feb 20.
Coccidiosis endemicity remains a major challenge in poultry production in the tropics and all over the world. In order to develop predictive tool for identification of chickens that are at risk of coccidiosis among Nigerian indigenous chickens, body weight gain (BWG) and hematological variables were determined for chickens infected with Eimeria tenella (female = 60, male = 63) and uninfected (female = 51, male = 45). The hematological variables analyzed include the following: packed cell volume (PCV, %), white blood cells (WBC, × 10/μl), and red blood cells (RBC, × 10/μl), as well as differential leucocyte percentages of neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, and eosinophils. Body weight gain was determined at days 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15. Of the 12 variables analyzed, BWG at day 3, monocyte, PCV, and WBC in males and BWG at days 6, 9, and 12, PCV, and WBC in female chickens showed significant (P ≤ 0.01) difference between the infected and uninfected. Stepwise discriminant analysis evolved a model that could distinguish uninfected from Eimeria-infected chickens. Packed cell volume, WBC, BWG at day 3, and lymphocytes emerged the most discriminant between uninfected and Eimeria-infected chickens in male chickens. In female chickens, PCV, RBC, and BWG at day 3 were identified as most discriminant variables in separating the uninfected from Eimeria-infected chickens. Therefore, this study suggests that routine blood test and estimates of body weight gain could serve as a useful tool for identifying chickens that may be at risk of coccidiosis, enabling improvement of preventive measures.
球虫病的地方性流行仍然是热带地区及全球家禽生产中的一个主要挑战。为了开发一种预测工具，用于识别尼日利亚本土鸡中易患球虫病的鸡，对感染柔嫩艾美耳球虫的鸡（雌性 = 60只，雄性 = 63只）和未感染的鸡（雌性 = 51只，雄性 = 45只）测定了体重增加（BWG）和血液学变量。分析的血液学变量包括以下各项：红细胞压积（PCV，%）、白细胞（WBC，×10/μl）、红细胞（RBC，×10/μl），以及中性粒细胞、淋巴细胞、单核细胞和嗜酸性粒细胞的白细胞分类百分比。在第3、6、9、12和15天测定体重增加。在分析的12个变量中，雄性鸡在第3天的BWG、单核细胞、PCV和WBC，以及雌性鸡在第6、9和12天的BWG、PCV和WBC在感染组和未感染组之间显示出显著（P≤0.01）差异。逐步判别分析得出了一个可以区分未感染鸡和感染艾美耳球虫鸡的模型。在雄性鸡中，红细胞压积、WBC、第3天的BWG和淋巴细胞是未感染鸡和感染艾美耳球虫鸡之间最具判别力的因素。在雌性鸡中，红细胞压积、RBC和第3天的BWG被确定为区分未感染鸡和感染艾美耳球虫鸡的最具判别力的变量。因此，本研究表明，常规血液检测和体重增加估计可作为识别可能易患球虫病鸡的有用工具，有助于改进预防措施。
