Incidence of Blastocystis sp. in chicken from Puducherry, India

The incidence of Blastocystis sp. in poultry from Puducherry, India was recorded in both backyard and broiler chicken. A total of 200 intact whole intestines of both backyard (50 nos.) and broiler chicken (150 nos.) were procured from local chicken outlets as well as from the nearby villages covering 13 places. The area-wise percentage of incidence of Blastocystis was recorded. The study involved qualitative examination and different staining techniques to detect the different forms of Blastocystis viz., Giemsa staining, Grams staining and modified acid-fast staining. Out of 200 intestinal samples comprising of both broilers and desi birds (150:50), 135 intestines were found positive for Blastocystis (broiler 112 nos and desi 23 nos), representing an overall infection 67.5 per cent (135200) in chicken (74.66 infection in broiler and 46 infection desi birds.) Among the different staining techniques used, the vacuolar form of Blastocystis was found to be predominant compared to granular form. Modified acid fast staining was found more sensitive followed by Giemsa stain.