Controlling the causative agents of coccidiosis in domestic chickens; an eye on the 1 past and considerations for the future 2

Attree, Elizabeth; Sanchez-Arsuaga, Gonzalo; Jones, Michelle; Xia, Dong; -Hernandez, Marugan; Blake, Damer; Tomley, Fiona

Abstract

Coccidiosis is a potentially severe enteritis caused by species of obligate intracellular parasites of the genus Eimeria. These parasites cause significant economic losses to the poultry industry, predominantly due to compromised efficiency of production as well as the cost of control. These losses were recently estimated to cost chicken producers approximately £10.4 billion worldwide annually. High levels of Eimeria infection cause clinical coccidiosis which is a significant threat to poultry welfare, and a pre-disposing contributory factor for necrotic enteritis. Control of Eimeria parasites and coccidiosis is therefore an important endeavour; multiple approaches have been developed and these are often deployed together. This review summarises current trends in strategies for control of Eimeria, focusing on three main areas: good husbandry, chemoprophylaxis and vaccination. There is currently no “perfect solution” and there are advantages and limitations to all existing methods. Therefore, the aim of this review is to present current control strategies and suggest how these may develop in the future.

Citation

Attree, E., Sanchez-Arsuaga, G., Jones, M., Xia, D., -Hernandez, M., Blake, D., & Tomley, F. (2021). Controlling the causative agents of coccidiosis in domestic chickens; an eye on the 1 past and considerations for the future 2. CAB Reviews: Perspectives in Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Nutrition and Natural Resources, https://doi.org/10.1186/s43170-021-00056-5

• Journal Article Type: Review
• Acceptance Date: Sep 6, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Sep 27, 2021
• Publication Date: Sep 27, 2021
• Deposit Date: May 19, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 29, 2021
• Journal: CABI Agriculture and Bioscience
• Print ISSN: 1749-8848
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s43170-021-00056-5
• Public URL: https://rvc-repository.worktribe.com/output/1548943
• Publisher URL: https://cabiagbio.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s43170-021-00056-5