Prevalence of helminth parasites of domestic pigeons (Columba livia) in Tra Vinh province and anthelmintic drugs
To evaluate the prevalence of helminth infections in domestic pigeons (Columba livia) in Tra Vinh province and anthelmintic drugs, the study was conducted in Chau Thanh, Tieu Can and Cang Long districts, and Tra Vinh city of Tra Vinh province from 01 January 2021 to 03 November 2021. The experiment to determine the drug’s efficacy was conducted on 10 pigeons in the control group, 10 pigeons were administered Decto-pharm at a dose 1g/1.5kg body weight, and 10 pigeons were given Albendazole 10% at a dose 10mg/kg body weight. The results of floatation method showed that the prevalence of helminth infections in feces of domestic pigeons was 77.0% comprising roundworms (61.0%) and tapeworms (16.0%). The infection of these parasites depended on the season of year with 90.0% in the rainy season and 64.0% in the dry season. The incidence of helminth parasites increased progressively by the age of animals following under 30 days of age (32.0%), 31-60 days of age (80.0%), 61-170 days of age (96.0%), and over 170 days of age (100%). The survey's four farms were all infected, including Chau Thanh district (74.0%), Tieu Can district (76.0%), Cang Long district (80.0%), and Tra Vinh City (78.0%). The prevalence of males (75.0%) and females (79.0%) were similar. In addition, the results of necropsied method presented that the overall prevalence of intestinal helminthes findings in pigeons was 86% with 46.0% for roundworms and 40.0% for tapeworms. The infection in rainy and dry seasons were 93.0% and 79.0%, respectively. The percentage of pigeon helminth infections detected by the dissection method likewise rose with age of birds: 1-30 days (64.0%), 31-60 days (84.0%), 61- 170 days (96.0%), and >170 days (100%). Post-mortem examination of four contaminated farms indicated Chau Thanh district (80.0%), Tieu Can district (90.0%), Cang Long district (88.0%), and Tra Vinh City (86.0%). Males (85.0%) and females (87.0%) were recorded. Pigeons infected with seven species of helminthes, including three species of gastro-intestinal nematode with a specific prevalence for Ascaridia columbae being 46.0%, followed by species of Heterakis gallinarium (36.5%), and Capillaria obsignata (33.5%); one species of nematode Oxyspiura mansoni (23.5%) parasited in the eye; three species of gastro-intestinal cestode with Raillietina tetragona (36.0%), Rallietina cesticilus (40.0%) and Hymenolepsis columbae (24.0%). Decto-pharm (1g/1.5kg body weight) and Albendazole 10% (10mg/kg body weight) drugs have been shown to be highly effective in deworming roundworm and tapeworm eggs in pigeons.
