Occurrence of Necrotic Enteritis associated with Coccidiosis in a Desi Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) flock

The present investigation describes the occurrence of necrotic enteritis and a concurrent intestinal coccidiosis in a desi chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) flock (Size:-1400). Necrotic enteritis is an acute enterotoxaemia caused by Clostridium perfringens; a quite ubiquitous bacterium readily found in soil, dust, faeces, feed and used poultry litter. It is considered as a normal inhabitant of the intestine of healthy chickens. Along with many other factors, the coccidiosis predisposes birds to necrotic enteritis. The 5 carcasses of 137 days old desi chicken were presented to the Department of Veterinary Pathology, Krantisinh Nana Patil College of Veterinary Science, Shirwal, Dist. Satara for the necropsy with the history of dullness, inappetence and mortality. Gross examination revealed diffuse congestion of small intestine. On opening severe necrosis of mucosa of small intestine along with foul-smelling reddish-brown contents in the lumen were observed. Mucosa had diphtheritic appearance due to yellowish material covering it. Multifocal haemorrhages were also noted. The wet mount preparation of intestinal content revealed presence of oocysts of Eimeria spp. The impression smear from jejunum stained with Grams Stain showed large number of Gram-positive rod-shaped bacteria. Representative samples were collected for histopathological and molecular diagnosis. Histopathological examination showed severe necrosis of the epithelial cells lining the small intestine, fusion of villi and severe infiltration with polymorphonuclear cells, presence of oocysts and other developmental stages of Eimeria spp. The PCR amplification of 16s rRNA gene of Cl. perfringens species and subsequent agarose gel electrophoresis of PCR product revealed bands of 481 bp to confirm the infection. The gross and microscopic lesions, microscopic examination of intestinal contents and PCR confirmed the necrotic enteritis in the desi chicken flock which is of economic and public health significance.