Epizootological monitoring studies of chicken heterakosis spreading on the territory of Poltava region

Abstract

Poultry breeding is one of the most promising branches of agriculture. Serious losses to this industry are caused by invasion diseases, including chicken heterakosis, which is widespread throughout the world. Heterakises cause pathological changes in the caecum, where various forms of typhlitises and enterohepatitises develop, and at high prevalence of infection, especially in young animals, lead to their death. The causative agent of the disease, Heterakis gallinarum nematode, is a parasitic organism environmentally adapted to the climatic conditions of many geograph-ical zones, which contributes to its wide spreading. The purpose of the research was to investigate chicken heterakosis spreading based on the results of analyzing the reporting documentation of the State Food and Consumer Service in Poltava region during 2018–2023. The conducted monitoring studies have established that in the condi-tions of the investigated region, the share of heterakosis among contagious poultry diseases makes 7.62 %. Infective poultry diseases account for 8.57 %. At the same time, the share of invasion diseases among poultry virulent pathology reaches 83.81 %. The share of heterakosis among poultry invasion diseases was at the level of 8.33 %, where the share of protozoases was the largest (67.71 %). Nematodoses accounted for a smaller share (18.75 %). Cestodiases were most rarely detected in poultry (5.21 %). Among the protozoan, nematodous and cestodous poultry diseases on the territory of Poltava region, eimeriosis made the largest percentage (67.71 %). Among nematodoses, the share of ascariasis was 16.67 %, capillariasis – 2.08 %. Among cestodoses, drepanidoteniosis was detected, the share of which made 5.21 %. Analyzing the indicators of the prevalence of heterakosis infection found on the territory of poultry farms in Poltava region, it was found that chickens’ infestation rate with heterakosis pathogen ranged from 0.06 to 0.19 % with an average value of 0.1 %. The highest indicators of the prevalence of heterakosis infection were detected in 2019–0.19 %. During 2020–2022, the infestation rates of poultry with heterakises gradually decreased from 0.12 to 0.06 %. The results of monitoring studies point to the relevance of further investigating the epizootological peculiarities of chicken heterakosis on the territory of certain regions of Ukraine.