Candida species and crop mycosis in broiler chickens

A mycological survey of the crops of approximately 100 healthy birds from each of 6 grow-out operations revealed that the incidence of Candida in the crops ranged from 17.4 to 51.5% with a mean value of 32.3%. The population of Candida in the crops of birds found positive was of low magnitude in the majority of the chickens examined. Of the 573 birds examined in this study less than 1% exhibited visible lesions attributable to Candida. C. albicans comprised 95% of the isolates while C. ravautii, C. salmonicola, C. gulliermondi, C. papapsilosis, C. catenulata and C. brumptii comprised the remainder. The incidence and number of Candida in the crop was related apparently to management practices on the farm. The crops from four field outbreaks of crop mycosis were also studied. Three of the four cases of crop mycosis were characterized by multiple strains of C. albicans in the crop. In one case, C. parapsilosis also was isolated from the crop.