Abstract

Poultry farming typically suffers significant losses due to a variety of avian diseases. Avian coccidiosis is recognized as the major parasitic disease with the greatest economic impact on poultry industries worldwide. In Cameroon, there is very little data on avian coccidiosis, but it is important to document the situation for better or more appropriate management. The aim of this study was therefore to assess the prevalence and intensity of avian coccidiosis, and associated risk factors in the Bamenda Health District, North-West Region, Cameroon. Stool samples were collected from 15 randomly selected farms. A prospective cross?sectional survey was carried out, and a total of 350 stool samples from chickens were examined microscopically for the presence of oocysts of Eimeria species using the formol-ether concentration technique. Questionnaires were also administered to assess risk factors associated with infection by Eimeria spp. A total of 152 chickens were infected, giving an overall prevalence of 43.4% (95% CI: 38.3-48.7), and the mean intensity of coccidiosis infection was 10.12 (±SD: 21.372) oocysts/g of stool. The prevalence was highly heterogeneous (p=0.0001) between poultry farms/communities, mostly due to poor farm management practices. Although farmers’ knowledge of coccidiosis was fairly good, some of their husbandry practices were poor, increasing birds’ exposure to Eimeria spp.

Key words: Poultry, avian coccidiosis, Eimeria species, Mezam division, Cameroon.