Lesion scoring technique for assessing the virulence and pathogenicity of Indian fifi eld isolates of avian Eimeria species
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Date
2011
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Abstract
Chicken coccidiosis caused by the genus Eimeria is a major health impediment causing high morbidity and
mortality in commercial poultry. Assessment of the virulence and pathogenicity of Eimeria species are the vital
factors for formulating effective control strategies. The gross lesion score was used in this study for assessing
the virulence and pathogenicity of indigenous six Eimeria sp. in a controlled experimental trial using six groups
of one hundred and twenty chicks of three weeks of age, inoculated with 2 × 10 2 to 2 × 103 numbers of oocysts
of six species of Eimeria. While an extended prepatent period (2 - 6 hrs) was confifi rmed in the majority of the
species, the gross lesion scores were mostly within the low score of 1-2 compared to the international reference
strains such as Houghton, so indicating possible natural attenuation of the fifi eld isolates. The gross lesion scores
(GLS) were assessed ranging from a scale of 0 (no gross lesion) to 4 (most severe lesion). This study seems to
be the fifi rst such attempt to standardize a lesion scoring technique for assessing the virulence and pathogenicity
of indigenous isolates of Eimeria in the Indian sub-continent.
Description
TNV_VA_2011_81(2)259-271
Keywords
Veterinary Science