Incidence of Chlamydophila psittaci in Domestic Birds in Sharkia Governorate, Egypt

Document Type : Original Article

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Abstract

Chlamydia infections are occurring in domesticated birds. Efforts to detect and identify chlamydiae are important, because it is often accompanied with concurrent infections and variable outbreaks. Human being in contact with birds and slaughtering houses are exposed to hazards of infection. In the present study, smears from liver, lung, heart and spleen from suspected birds were examined by Giemsa stain to demonstrate the presence of chlamydia inclusions. Pooling of internal organs was were inoculated in embroynated chicken eggs via yolk sac route for isolation of Cp.psittaci and smears from yolk sacs were subjected to Gimenez stain. The high incidence of chlamydia (92%) was detected in chickens followed by ducks (88%), turkeys (76%) and pigeons (72%). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and direct fluorescence antibody test (FAT) were done on 12 positive Gimenez stain samples from each species and the results revealed that the high percentage was in chickens and turkeys with percentage  91.6% in PCR reaction and (83.3%,75%) in direct immunofluorscent test in chickens and turkeys,  respectively followed by ducks and pigeons. Complement fixation test (CFT) was carried out on a total of 48 fecal swabs; the percentage of Chlamydia shedding in chickens, pigeons ,ducks and turkeys was 91.6%, 83.3%, 75% and 66.6%, respectively. In conclusion, the high incidence of chlamydiosis in domestic birds calls for more efforts to safeguard humans from this infection.

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