Abstract

---

In Nigeria, fungi have been causing high mortality and production loses in the poultry industry. This study aims at quantifying the fungal organisms in feed, litter and birds droppings, and their occurrence and distribution in selected poultry farms in Anambra State, Nigeria. The samples were collected from 10 poultry farms in six local government areas in Anambra State, Nigeria. One gram (1 g) of each sample was serially diluted ten-fold and 0.1 ml of 10-4 dilution spread inoculated on Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) plates supplemented with 0.05 mg/ml chloramphenicol. After incubation for 3-6 days at 25oC, fungal load was determined and the isolates characterized using macroscopic, microscopic and genetic features. The range of fungal load of the samples in the farm with floor system was 8.50 × 103 to 2.40 × 105 sfu/g, while that of cage system was 6.0 × 103 to 2.10 × 105 sfu/g. The fungi recovered during the rainy season included Aspergillus (40.0%), Leichthemia (10.0%), Paecillomyces (11.49%), Penicillum (10.61%), Acremonium (3.89%), Fusarium (1.61%), Chrysonilia (0.60%) and yeast (21.08%). Those of the dry season were Aspergillus (19.16%), yeast (30.75%), Curvularia (12.28%), Penicillum (9.48%), Fusarium (3.75%), Cunninghamella (3.33%), Trichoderma (4.96%), Nathrasia (4.34%), Syncephalis (4.16%), Aureobasidium (4.59%), Scopulariopsis (2.98%). No seasonal effect on fungal loads of the samples from various farms, but significant difference (p<0.05) was observed in the occurrence and distribution of the isolates. Fungal quantification of the samples and species identification are essential in the evaluation of potential health risk of workers in the poultry farms.

Keywords: Poultry farms, birds, fungal isolates, dry season, rainy season.