Molecular identification of eimeria spp. Oocysts from broiler chickens in Kelantan

Coccidiosis is a gastrointestinal disease with a major economic impact on the poultry industry. Poultry coccidiosis is caused by the protozoa of Eimeria species. There are seven known Eimeria spp. infecting chickens, and five of them were detected in this study. This study was conducted to determine the species of Eimeria spp. oocysts in broiler chicken in Kelantan. A total of 30 fecal samples were collected from three broiler farms of different management in Kelantan. The modified McMaster method was used to quantify the number of oocysts per gram (OPG) of Eimeria spp. oocysts in the samples. DNA of the oocysts were extracted for Eimeria species identification using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Results showed that all samples were positive for Eimeria spp. microscopically. Samples collected from farms practicing the intensive system revealed a higher OPG count than samples from extensive system farms. The five Eimeria spp. detected are Eimeria tenella, Eimeria maxima, Eimeria acervulina, Eimeria mitis and Eimeria praecox. Identity of the five detected Eimeria species were confirmed by comparing the nucleotide sequences revealed using BTSeq with genomic database from National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) with percentage similarity of more than 99%. In short, this study revealed the prominent Eimeria spp. infecting local broiler chicken. DNA sequences generated from Eimeria spp. in this study may facilitate development of local vaccine to provide better immunity compared with imported vaccines.
Keywords: Broiler, Coccidiosis, Eimeria species, Kelantan