See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286373382 Epidemiological aspects of lice (Menacanthus species) infections in laying hen flocks from the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil Article in British Poultry Science · December 2015 DOI: 10.1080/00071668.2015.1127893 CITATIONS READS 0 46 5 authors, including: Leandro do Carmo Rezende Nelson Rodrigo da Silva Martins Federal University of Minas Gerais Federal University of Minas Gerais 9 PUBLICATIONS 11 CITATIONS 103 PUBLICATIONS 357 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Cristina Mara Teixeira Lucas Maciel Cunha 7 PUBLICATIONS 11 CITATIONS Fundação Ezequiel Dias 26 PUBLICATIONS 43 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Working in projects regarding control and prevention of parasitic diseases in domestic animals (until Nov-2016) View project Infectious bursal disease virus isolate A-BH83 segment A viral protein 5 and polyprotein genes, complete cds. Infectious bursal disease virus isolate MG-7 segment A viral protein 5 gene, complete cds; and polyprotein gene, partial cds View project All content following this page was uploaded by Leandro do Carmo Rezende on 14 March 2016. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. British Poultry Science ISSN: 0007-1668 (Print) 1466-1799 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cbps20 Epidemiological aspects of lice (Menacanthus species) infections in laying hen flocks from the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil L. Do Carmo Rezende, N. R. Da Silva Martins, C. M. Teixeira, P. R. De Oliveira & L. M. Cunha To cite this article: L. Do Carmo Rezende, N. R. Da Silva Martins, C. M. Teixeira, P. R. De Oliveira & L. M. Cunha (2016) Epidemiological aspects of lice (Menacanthus species) infections in laying hen flocks from the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, British Poultry Science, 57:1, 44-50, DOI: 10.1080/00071668.2015.1127893 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00071668.2015.1127893 Accepted author version posted online: 08 Dec 2015. Published online: 29 Feb 2016. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 16 View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=cbps20 Download by: [Leandro Rezende] Date: 14 March 2016, At: 10:21 British Poultry Science, 2016 Vol. 57, No. 1, 44–50, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00071668.2015.1127893 Epidemiological aspects of lice (Menacanthus species) infections in laying hen flocks from the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil L. DO CARMO REZENDE1, N. R. DA SILVA MARTINS 1, C. M. TEIXEIRA1, 1,* 2 P. R. DE OLIVEIRA , AND L. M. CUNHA 1Departamento de MedicinaVeterináriaPreventiva, Escola de Veterinária da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Campus da UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and 2Centro de Ciência Animal, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Biológicas da Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, UFOP, Campus Morro do Cruzeiro, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil Abstract 1. The epidemiology of chicken lice species such as Menacanthus stramineus, M. cornutus and M. pallidulus were studied during an observational, analytical and sectional survey, to determine predisposing factors for their occurrence in laying hen farms in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. A total of 431 houses on 43 farms were visited in 2012. 2. M. cornutus, M. stramineus and M. pallidulus occurred in 20.9%, 11.6% and 11.6% of farms, respectively. The frequencies of occurrence of M. cornutus, M. stramineus and M.pallidulus in poultry houses were 10.4%, 8.8% and 3.7%, respectively. 3. The epidemiological determinants for the occurrence of these species were investigated using Poisson or logistic regression models. 4. The region of the farm, the recent use of acaricides and the presence of birds, such as saffron finch (Sicalis flaveola), feral pigeon (Columba livia) and Guira cuckoo (Guira guira) around the farms were related to the epidemiology of M. cornutus. 5. Infestation by M. stramineus was associated with age of birds, number of birds per cage and the presence of Guira cuckoo and Chopi blackbird (Gnorimopsar chopi) near the poultry houses. 6. The occurrence of M. pallidulus was influenced by the type of facilities, presence of cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) and free-range domestic hens around the farm. 7. The use of wire mesh nets in the houses and of forced moulting did not influence lice infestation. Downloaded by [Leandro Rezende] at 10:21 14 March 2016 INTRODUCTION these arthropods are a reservoir of Pasteurella mul- tocida and may act in the transmission of patho- Lice are well adapted to live as permanent ecto- gens (Derylo, 1970). parasites of birds and mammals. The order In Brazil, species of Amblycera, such as Phthiraptera (includes suborders Amblycera and Menacanthus stramineus (Nitzsch, 1818), M. cornu- Ischnocera) comprise species that feed on feathers tus (Schommer, 1913) and M. pallidulus and skin scurf (Guimarães et al., 2001). (Neumann, 1912) have been observed Phthiraptera of domestic chickens, also known as (Guimarães et al., 2001). In a Brazilian survey, Mallophaga according to the old taxonomy, have the association of the frequency of these ectopar- been studied for their economic importance asites and the type of facilities, host densities, cage (Guerra et al., 2008). Parasitised birds suffer skin system and practice of beak trimming were ana- irritation and inflammation, weight loss and a lysed and were related to a higher occurrence of decrease in feed intake and egg production (De infestations (Figueiredo et al., 1993). Other studies Vaney, 1976; Gless and Raun, 1959). Furthermore, demonstrated that infestation by M. stramineus was Correspondence to: Lucas Maciel Cunha, Centro de Ciência Animal, Instituto de CiênciasExatas e Biológicas da Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, UFOP, Campus Morro do Cruzeiro, CEP 35400-000, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil. E-mail: [email protected] Accepted for publication 22 October 2015. *In memoriam. © 2016 British Poultry Science Ltd MENACANTHUS SPP. IN LAYING HENS 45 higher in Leghorn hens kept in cages at higher conglomerate of active poultry houses densities and that beak trimming as a manage- (Medronho et al., 2009) and from March to July ment practice may increase louse infestations 2012, 431 chicken houses on 43 farms were visited. (Mullens et al., 2010). In a Pakistani study, older Inspections were performed in the poultry birds in small enclosures were more prone to facilities and 20 chickens per house were individu- Mallophaga infestation (Nadeem et al., 2007). ally examined – the visual examination was done There are few studies on epidemiological fac- by veterinarians trained for this purpose. Lice and tors influencing prevalence or transmission of feather samples were collected; in some cases, lice poultry lice. Our aim was to document occurrence were collected using adhesive tape (Figueiredo of Menacanthus spp. in layer flocks in Minas et al., 1993). Samples were packed in airtight plas- Gerais, Brazil, and to examine associated flock tic bags, taken to the laboratory, where they were and site characteristics. stored at −20 ± 2°C until processing. In each house, only the presence or absence of the para- sites was evaluated, and no quantification of infes- MATERIAL AND METHODS tations was made. Lice and haematophagous mite specimens Survey characteristics were prepared in lactophenol (Krantz, 1978) and mounted on slides with coverslips. Morphological The study was conducted in layer farms in the characteristics were determined with an optical State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, which has an area microscope (Olympus, Japan). The species of of 586 519 km2 and a large range of climatic lice and mites were identified (Emerson, 1956; conditions. The climate in most regions surveyed Guimarães et al., 2001). in Minas Gerais is tropical, alternately wet and dry. To determine whether the climatic variations could affect the presence or absence of ectopar- Questionnaire asites, the temperature (12–39°C) and relative To obtain information on predisposing factors for humidity (≥30%) were monitored in cities near the occurrence of ectoparasite species, a question- the farm. Farms where temperatures were below naire was completed during the visits (Cunha, 5°C or above 40°C were not visited in order to 2013). It was prepared on the basis of a test–retest avoid high variations in the severity of infestation validation procedure, using kappa coefficient. related to the extreme climatic changes, which The study was approved by the Ethics may influence the detection of ectoparasites. Committees of the Federal University of Minas The farms visited were generally similar, with Gerais–UFMG (COEP/UFMG Ethic Number the number of houses per farm ranging from 1 to 0238.0.203.000-11 and CETEA/UFMG 41/2011). 40 and an average number of 10 (SD = 5.49). Forty-one farms kept poultry in cage systems and produced breeding replacement growers and Statistical analysis pullets. The simultaneous evaluation of different risk or protective factors for the occurrence of infesta- Downloaded by [Leandro Rezende] at 10:21 14 March 2016 tions by M.stramineus was performed using logistic Sampling and identification of arthropods regression models, as demonstrated by Dohoo There is a national plan for poultry health in et al.(2003). Regarding M. pallidulus and M. cor- Brazil, which requires compulsory periodic inspec- nutus, the evaluation of main epidemiologic fac- tion and georeferencing of commercial poultry tors was performed using Poisson regression flocks. (Properties producing poultry for home models (Dohoo et al., 2003). The choice of multi- consumption on a small scale are characterised variate model for each species of parasite was as subsistence producers and are not inspected.) performed on the basis of goodness of fit. These The georeferencing data of the State Institute for models were constructed using the software Stata Agricultural Sanitary Defence of Minas Gerais 12.0 and considering the poultry houses as the (Instituto Mineiro de Agropecuária – IMA) were statistical analysis unit.