Prevalence and molecular characterization of Ascaridia galli in chickens from Minoufiya Governorate, Egypt

Ascaridia galli causes weight loss, emaciation, anemia, decreased egg production, and sometimes, intestinal obstruction and death in birds, leading to economic losses in the poultry industry. This research aimed to record the occurrence of A. galli in free-range chickens at farmers' houses in three villages in Ashmoun City, Minoufiya Governorate, Egypt. Additionally, molecular characterization was conducted using internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS-1) region PCR and sequence analysis. A total of 570 chickens from 570 small flocks, each ranging in size from 10 to 20 free-range chickens, were investigated for the presence of A. galli. DNA was extracted from 10 adult worms collected from Shoshai and Elmanil-Dowib villages and subjected to PCR amplification and sequence analysis. The overall occurrence of A. galli in Ashmoun City was 38 %, with Elmanil-Dowib village having the highest prevalence at 45 %. The oldest chickens, over one year old, had the highest occurrence rate at 56 %, while females showed a higher occurrence (44 %) than males (15 %). The highest occurrence was observed during winter (47 %). The mean intensity and abundance of A. galli in Ashmoun were 5.52 and 2.07, respectively. The ITS-1 sequences of A. galli from Ashmoun, Minoufiya, Egypt had up to 100 % identity and clustered within the same genetic clade as A. galli from Egypt, Poland, and Bangladesh. Haplotype and nucleotide diversity analyses revealed that the sequences from Ashmoun represent a single haplotype and show no nucleotide mutations. This study presents the first report of the occurrence and genetic characterization of A. galli in Baladi chickens in Ashmoun City, Minoufiya, Egypt, thereby enhancing the understanding of A. galli epidemiology in this district and developing effective control strategies.