Diseases and Parasites of

Food Animals and Poultry

 INTRODUCTION
 Disease (negative-ease) is a finite
abnormality of structure or function with an
identifiable pathological or
clinicopathological basis and with a
recognizable syndrome of clinical signs.
 Health refers to a state of physical and
psychological well-being and of production
 INTRODUCTION
 Incubation period is the interval of time
required for development of disease; time
between the invasion of the body by a
pathogenic organism and appearance of
the first signs of disease
 Clinical Signs (Symptoms) are
abnormalities of structure or function
observed in the animal
 INTRODUCTION
 Morbidity rate refers to the number of
animals in a herd or flock which are
affected by the disease but do not die
 Mortality rate refers to the number of
animals dying from a disease in a
population
 INTRODUCTION
Terms used to denote the presence of
disease in a population

 Epizootic / Epidemic
 Pandemic
 Enzootic / Endemic
 Sporadic
 INTRODUCTION
Classification of Disease
 according to its duration
 according to location in the body
 according to cause
 INTRODUCTION
Classification of disease according
to its duration
 peracute
 acute
 subacute
 chronic
 INTRODUCTION
Classification of disease according to
location in the body
 respiratory diseases
 circulatory diseases
 gastrointestinal diseases
 urogenital diseases
 neural diseases
 systemic diseases
 INTRODUCTION
Classification of disease according
to cause
 non-infectious
 infectious
 parasitic
Body’s defenses against disease
 skin and mucous membrane
 sweat and tears
 filter organs
 body’s various reactive defenses
 Inflammation
 Fever
 Immunity
Body’s defenses against disease

Types of immunity
 Active immunity
 Antigen being given to the animal
and the body produced antibodies
 recovering from a disease(natural)

or injection of biological agent or

vaccine (artificial)
 Longer duration
Body’s defenses against disease

Types of immunity
 Passive immunity
 animal’s body given antibodies
 sucking of colostrum and placental
transfer (natural) and injection of
antiserum (artificial)
 duration is usually relatively short
Causative Agents of Diseases
1. Bacteria
Classification:
 Gram-positive or gram-negative
Causative Agents of Diseases
Bacteria
 Aerobic or anaerobic

 Spore forming or non-spore forming

 Acid fast or nonacid-fast

Causative Agents of Diseases
Morphology:
 Coccus
 Bacillus
 Spirochetes
Causative Agents of Diseases
2. Fungi – are eukaryotic, non-
photosynthetic, filamentous or
unicellular organism that reproduce
asexually or sexually (spores).
Causative Agents of Diseases
3. Virus – are submicroscopic
organism that can be grown
using living tissue. It has a
DNA or RNA protein capsid
Classification:
a. DNA viruses
b. RNA viruses
Causative Agents of Diseases
4. Mycoplasma – are tiny bacteria which
has a size between a virus and
bacteria. They do not grow or stain like
other bacteria but they will grow on special
media if blood serum is added.
Causative Agents of Diseases
5. Rickettsia – are true bacteria but they
are non-filterable and are gram-negative.
They can be cultivated outside the host
only in living tissues. They are usually
associated with the tissues of some
arthropods.
Causative Agents of Diseases
6. Protozoa – it is single-celled organism
and eukaryotic. They are intracellular
parasites
Causative Agents of Diseases
7. Metazoan parasites
 flatworms/tapeworms
 flukes
 roundworms
Causative Agents of Diseases
8. Arthropods (external parasites) –
these are referred to as jointed legs
parasites.
 In this category belongs the mites, ticks,
flies, lice, fleas, mosquitoes etc.
 PARASITES OF POULTRY AND
LIVESTOCK
Parasites – are organisms that live in or on
other organisms known as hosts and
at whose expense they (parasites) obtain
some advantage without compensation.
Endoparasites - parasites that live within

the host
Ectoparasites - parasites that live outside
the body of the host
 PARASITES OF POULTRY AND
LIVESTOCK
Host – the organism that harbors a parasite
a. Definitive host - a host harboring the
sexual, adult stage of the parasite
b. Intermediate host – a host harboring
an asexual or larval stage of the
parasite
Vector – arthropod or other invertebrate that
transmits the parasite from one host to
another
 PARASITES OF POULTRY AND
LIVESTOCK
Parasitosis – association between two
organisms in which one injures the
other causing signs and lesions of
disease
Parasitiasis- association between two
organisms in which the parasite is
potentially pathogenic but does not
cause signs of disease
 PARASITES OF POULTRY AND
LIVESTOCK
Parasites may injure their hosts in
several ways:
 they may suck blood, lymph or exudates
 they may feed on solid tissues
 they may compete with the host for the food
 they may cause mechanical obstructions
 they may cause pressure atrophy
 they may destroy host cells by growing in them
 PARASITES OF POULTRY AND
LIVESTOCK
Parasites may injure their hosts in
several ways:
 they may produce various toxic substances
 they may cause allergic reactions
 they may stimulate the development of cancer
 they may carry diseases and parasites
 they may reduce their host’s resistance to other
diseases and parasites
 ECTOPARASITES
Flies
 have two wings as adults and they vary
greatly in size
 adults may intermittently feed on
vertebrate blood or on saliva, tears or
mucus
 may serve as vectors for bacteria,
viruses, spirochetes etc.
 Can cause the condition known as
myiasis (infestation of tissue with fly
larvae)
Life cycle of a Fly
Musca domestica (common housefly)

Tabanus sp. (horsefly)

Stomoxys calcitrans (stable fly)

 Culicoides sp. (biting midges or
punkies)

Haematobia irritans exigua (buffalo fly)

Simulium sp.(black flies, buffalo gnats)

Myiasis flies
 ECTOPARASITES
Control:
 Drain possible breeding places
 Use organophosphate/insecticides
 Proper disposal of manure and
garbage
 ECTOPARASITES
Mosquitoes
 most voracious of the blood-
feeding arthropods
 Injuries that mosquitoes inflict on
livestock are mostly severe
annoyance, blood loss and
transmission of several blood
diseases
Life cycle of mosquitos
 Culex pipiens (house mosquito)

Aedes aegypti (yellow fever mosquito)

Anopheles sp. ( malarial mosquito)

 ECTOPARASITES
Control:
 Proper drainage
 Use of insecticides
 Biological control (use of larviparous
fish e.g. Gambusia affinis
 ECTOPARASITES
Ticks (giant mites)
 live on the skin or fleece of animals.
 two families of ticks, the hard ticks
(Ixodidae) and the soft ticks (Argasidae)
 Harmful effects of ticks: local irritation,
discomfort and blood loss, loss of meat
production, milk, wool and eggs.
 transmit babesiasis, anaplasmosis, viral
and bacterial diseases
 cause tick paralysis
Life cycle of ticks
 Argas persicus (fowl tick)

Boophilus microplus (tropical cattle tick)

 ECTOPARASITES
Control:
 cultural and biologic control – this measure is
directed to destroy the microhabitat of ticks.
 elimination of cracks in walls and perches for fowl tick
 rotation of pasture or pasture spelling (cattle tick)
 use of resistant cattle
 chemical control – control by acaricide treatment
on vegetation and hosts
 vaccination
 ECTOPARASITES
Mites
 are obligate parasites, spend their
entire life cycle on the host
 transmission is mainly by contact
 disease condition is called mange
 Demodex sp

Sarcoptes scabiei
 Psoroptes sp.

Ornithonyssus bursa (tropical fowl mite)

 ECTOPARASITES
Control:
 Spraying or dusting the birds/animals with
insecticides/acaricide
 Spray the inside of the house and all
hiding places with an effective
insecticide/acaricide
 Use of injectable ectoparasiticide
 ECTOPARASITES
Lice
 Lice are wingless, flattened ectoparasites
 Highly host specific
 Two suborders in this family: the sucking
lice (Anoplura) and the biting lice
(Mallophaga)
 Can cause severe anemia, source of
irritation and skin damage
 The disease condition caused by lice is
called pediculosis.
Life cycle of lice
Lipeurus caponis (wing louse of
chicken)

Menacanthus stramineus
(yellow body louse)

Menopon gallinae (shaft louse)

 Goniocotes gallinae (fluff louse)

Goniodes dissimilis (brown louse)

Damalinia bovis (biting louse of cattle)

Damalinia ovis (biting louse of sheep)

Damalinia caprae (biting louse of goat)

 Haematopinus eurysternus
(short-nosed cattle louse)

Linognathus vituli
(long-nosed or blue louse of cattle)

Haematopinus tuberculatus
(sucking louse of buffalo)
 ENDOPARASITES
A. Flukes (trematodes)
 occur primarily in the bile ducts,
alimentary tract and vascular
system
 their development occurs in at
least two hosts. The first is a
mollusk or very rarely, an annelid.
Life cycle of liverfluke
 ENDOPARASITES
Fasciola gigantica (liver fluke)
 Occurs in the bile ducts of cattle, sheep
and other mammals
 Intermediate host: snail (Lymnae sp)
 The metacercaria occur on
vegetation and host become
infected through ingestion of the
infected vegetation
 ENDOPARASITES
Clinical signs: distended painful
abdomen with anemia and
sudden death
Treatment: rafoxanide, albendazole,
triclabendazole, closantel
 ENDOPARASITES
Control: a. elimination of intermediate
host using molluscides
b. biological control of
intermediate hosts using
ducks
c. rotational grazing
Life cycle of bloodfluke
 ENDOPARASITES
Schistosoma japonicum(blood fluke)
 Lives in the portal and mesenteric
veins of both man and animals
 Intermediate host : water snails
(Oncomelania sp.)
 Infection is through skin penetration
of cercaria
 ENDOPARASITES
Clinical signs:
 profuse diarrhea or dysentery
 anemia with edema
 marked decrease in production or
loss of weight
Treatment: praziquantel
 ENDOPARASITES
Control: a. Control of intermediate
hosts using molluscicides
(copper sulfate, niclosamide)
b. Fencing of contaminated
bodies of water and provide
clean drinking water
 ENDOPARASITES
Paragonimus westermani (lung fluke)
 Occurs in the lungs and more rarely in
the brain, spinal cord and other organs
of pig, dog, cat, ruminants, carnivores
and man
 First intermediate host : snail
 Second intermediate host: crab or
crayfish
Life cycle of lungfluke
 ENDOPARASITES
Clinical signs:
 animals become lethargic
 intermittent coughing and dyspnea
Treatment: albendazole and bithional
Control: freshwater crustaceans
should not be eaten raw and
elimination of snails
 ENDOPARASITES
Tapeworms/Flatworms (Cestodes)
 life cycle of these cestodes is indirect
with one intermediate host
 adult is usually found in the small
intestine of the final host
 Raillietina tetragona
• found in the small
intestine of chicken
• Intermediate host: ants
Life cycle of Taenia solium
 ENDOPARASITES
Taenia solium (“pork tapeworm”)
 The definitive host is man
 The intermediate host is pig ;the
larval stage (Cysticercus cellulosae)
are found in the muscles of pig
 Monieza expanza
• Ruminants are the definitive host
• Mite belonging to the family Oribatidae
is the intermediate host
Stages of the life cycle of roundworms
 ENDOPARASITES
Threadworms
Strongyloides ransomi (threadworm of pig)
• Occurs in the small intestine
 Mode of infection: skin penetration,
ingestion, prenatal infection
 Clinical signs: diarrhea which soon
becomes continuous and hemorrhagic
Strongyloides ransomi
 ENDOPARASITES
Kidneyworm
 Stephanurus dentatus
(kidneyworm of swine)
 Occurs in the perirenal fat, kidney,
liver, pancreas and other organs
and muscles of pig
 ENDOPARASITES
Mode of infection: ingestion and skin
penetration
Clinical signs: failure to gain weight or
in severe cases, weight loss
and ascites if there is
severe liver damage
 ENDOPARASITES
Stomach worm
Haemonchus contortus (barberpole
worm or wireworm)
 Occurs in the abomasum of ruminants
Clinical signs: severe anemia, dark
colored feces and sudden death due
to acute blood loss
Haemonchus contortus
 ENDOPARASITES
Lungworm
Dictyocaulus viviparus (lungworm of
cattle)
 Occurs in the trachea, bronchi and
bronchioles of cattle and buffaloes
Clinical signs: coughing, dyspnea
Dictyocaulus viviparus
 ENDOPARASITES
Metastrongylus apri (lungworm of
swine)
 Occurs in the trachea, bronchi and
bronchioles of pig
 Intermediate host: earthworm
Clinical signs: persistent coughing
 ENDOPARASITES
Ascarids
Ascaris suum (common largeworm of
pig)
 Occurs in the small intestine of pig
 Mode of infection: ingestion of
infective egg
Clinical signs: coughing, stunted
growth, pneumonia
Metastrongylus apri

Ascaris suum
 ENDOPARASITES
Neoascaris vitulorum (Toxocara
vitulorum)
 Occurs in the small intestine of
cattle and buffalo
 Mode of infection: transplacental,
transcolostral, ingestion
Clinical signs: diarrhea
Neoascaris vitulorum
 ENDOPARASITES
Ascaridia galli
 Occurs in the small intestine of
chicken, turkey, goose etc
Clinical signs: hemorrhagic
enteritis, anemia
 ENDOPARASITES
Cecal worm
Heterakis gallinarum (cecal worm of
chicken)
 Occurs in the ceca of chicken
 Carrier of Histomonas meleagridis
(causal agent of blackhead)
 ENDOPARASITES
Whipworm
 Trichuris suis (whipworm of swine)
 Trichuris vulpis (whipworm of dog)
 Occurs in the cecum and large
intestine
Clinical signs: watery diarrhea which
contains blood
 ENDOPARASITES
Oesophagostomum sp. (nodular
worm)
 Occurs in the small intestine
Clinical signs: dark persistent
fetid diarrhea; nodular formation
on the intestine on older cattle