The prevalence of histomoniasis in Chukar partridge (Alectoris chukar) in Iran: A case report

Parasitic diseases are one of the limiting factors in the poultry industry especially in intensive farming systems. Histomonas meleagridis has been identified in a wide range of birds including turkey, partridge, guinea fowl, Bobwhite quail, and ostrich. The present study was done after reporting the mortality at a farm of Canadian partridge that was referred to the veterinary hospital of Shahid Chamran university, Iran. Clinical symptoms of the birds included drowsiness, dropping of the wings, depression and anorexia for a few days and mortality was 3.36 % in the infected farm. Microscopically, typhlitis and numerous of histomonads as a pale and ovoid bodies within lacunae in the lamina propria was observed. The birds were administered metronidazole and albendazole, which effectively controlled the histomoniasis There are several reports about histomoniasis in partridge, but it seems this case is the first report of histomoniasis outbreak in a Chukar partridge (Alectoris chukar) farm in Iran.