Prevalence and Risk Factors of Coccidiosis in Poultry Farms in and Around Ambo Town, Western Ethiopia

Abstract

A cross sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of poultry coccidiosis and to assess its relationship with different risk factors in and around Ambo town, western Ethiopia from October 2010 to April, 2011. Flotation and McMaster counting techniques were used for qualitative and quantitative studies, respectively. Out of the total 384 chicken examined, 79 (20.57%) were positive for coccidian parasites. Statistically significant (P>0.05) difference in the prevalence of coccidiosis was not observed between sex and age groups of birds. The prevalence was significantly (P 0.05) was observed among breed and sex groups. In conclusion, the present study showed that coccidiosis is an important disease of poultry in the study area and appropriate strategies have to be designed to reduce the effect of the disease.