Medycyna Wet. 64 (7), 886-888, 2008
Antonik S., Okulewicz A., Gaweł A., Mazurkiewicz M.
Prevalence of Eimeria species in hens in the Lower Silesia region
The purpose of the research was to determine the prevalence of particular Eimeria species in hens in the Lower Silesia region and to compare the methods of coccidia species identification. The material for the research came from farms of slaughter chickens and laying hens. The species identification was carried out by the classical method (location of anatomicopathologic changes in the alimentary tract, the morphology and size of oocytes, time of sporulation) and through the isolation of DNA and the amplification chain reaction (PCR). The most frequent species were: E. acervulina, E. tenella, E. maxima and E. necatrix. Over half (69%) of the cases of coccidiosis were caused by at least two species of coccidia, and only 31% of the cases by one species of coccidia. The results of the PCR analysis confirmed the species composition of Eimeria spp. determined by the classical method. For 15 out of 29 isolates, the results of the identification obtained after performing the PCR reaction concur with the results obtained by the classical method. Other tests failed to demonstrate the presence of DNA of the expected coccidian species.
Key words: coccidia, hens, species identification, PCR