An automated faecal egg count system for detection of Ascaridia galli ova in chickens

Chicken production has increased over the past decade, resulting in a concomitant rise in the demand for more humane options for poultry products including cage-free, free-range, and organic meat and eggs. These husbandry changes, however, have come hand-in-hand with increased prevalence of Ascaridia galli infection, which can cause clinical disease in chickens as well as the occasional appearance of worms in eggs. Additionally, development of anthelmintic resistance in closely related helminths of turkeys highlights the need for closely monitored anthelmintic treatment programs. Manual faecal egg counts (FECs) can be time-consuming and require specialist training. As such, this study sought to validate an automated FEC system for use in detection and quantification of A. galli eggs in chicken faeces. Automated counts using the Parasight System (PS) were compared to traditional manual McMaster counting for both precision and correlation between methods. Overall, ten repeated counts were performed on twenty individual samples for a total of 200 counts performed for each method. A strong, statistically significant correlation was found between methods (R² = 0.7879, P < 0.0001), and PS counted more eggs and performed with statistically significant higher precision (P = 0.0391) than manual McMaster counting. This study suggests that PS is a good alternative method for performing A. galli FECs and provides a new tool for use in helminth treatment and control programs in chicken operations.