Prevalence and Risk Factors Associated with Haemoparasitosis in Village Chickens (Gallus Gallus Domesticus) in Gombe State, Nigeria

The present study was conducted between November, 2016 and September, 2017, aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with haemoparasitosis in village chickens in Gombe State, Nigeria. Blood samples were collected from a total of 1820 village chickens and Giemsa stained thin blood smears were microscopically examined for the presence of haemoparasites. Results revealed an overall prevalence of 19.6% of three genera of avian haemoparasites in a single and mixed infection. Amongst the haemoparasites encountered, Plasmodium (13.9%) was the most prevalent followed by Haemoproteus (2.6%) and Leucocytozoon (0.4%) in single infection, while the prevalence of mixed infection with Plasmodium + Haemoproteus was 2.6%. Higher prevalence rates were recorded in cocks (28.5%) compared to hens (8.9%), as well as in adults (23.0%) compared to the growers (11.0%) village chickens. The prevalence rates was found to be higher in the rainy (39.3%) compared to cold dry (12.5%) and hot dry (7.7%) seasons of the study period. The difference in prevalence of haemoparasites among sex, age groups, and season was statistically significant (<0.0001). In conclusion, haemoparasites exist among village chickens flocks in Gombe State, Nigeria probably due to the presence of vectors and inadequate practice of biosecurity measures. It is therefore, recommended that awareness should be created on the prevalence of haemoparasites, further researches involving molecular characterization of haemoparasites should be carried out and village chicken farmers should be educated on the need for maintenance proper biosecurity measures on their farms.