Parasitförekomst hos tamhöns i svenska hobbyflockar

Paper in Swedish

Abstrakt: I följande artikel redovisas en inventering av nematod- och artropodförekomsten hos tamhöns från svenska hobbybesättningar. Parasitförekomsten och artrikedo- men bland parasitfynden var hög. Totalt 15 procent av de undersökta fåglarna hade dött av parasitära sjukdomar. Många av djurägarna hade gjort försök att bekämpa parasiter. Författarna diskuterar de praktiska svårigheterna kring rådgivning och bekämpning av parasiter hos hobbyfjäderfä.

English title: Parasite infections in Swedish backyard chicken

Summary: Many external and internal parasites are important pathogens of chickens. During recent decades, most poultry parasites have been eliminated from commercial poultry flocks by biosecurity measures and modern all-in-all-out management. In backyard flocks, some parasites may still constitute a threat to the health of the birds. In Sweden parasites are commonly detected in backyard chickens during necropsies, and parasites also receive much attention from bird owners. Presently no approved parasiticides for poultry are available in Sweden. This study was designed to determine which parasite species are present in Swedish backyard chickens, how common these parasites are and to investigate whether parasitic infections result in morbility and mortality in this population.

The gastrointestinal tract, the trachea and bronchi and the skin and plumage were investigated for presence of helminths and arthropods in Swedish backyard chcikens that were submitted for necropsy to the National Veterinary Institute (SVA) in Sweden during a period of two years. Parasite infections were common in the investigated birds (Table 1). In eight of 52 birds (15%) the cause of death was parasitic diseases. There were three cases of coccidiosis, four cases of anemia and circulatory failure caused by D. gallinae and one bird was diagnosed with respiratory cryptosporidiosis. or all parasites except K. mutans no association was found between rate of infection and the age, sex, and body condition (Table 2). K. mutans was only detected in adult birdfs. The number of H. gallinarum was slightly higher in birds with poor body condiction (p=0,09).

The author conclude that the high infection rate and the clinical effects caused by some parasites may have a significant impact on the welfare of the birds, and at leasdt in some cases, this justifies the use of acaricides, insecticides and possible also anhelmintics as a complement to other traditional control strategies.