A survey was conducted to investigate the point prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) parasites of captive birds. Fecal samples from 613 captive birds belonging to 19 species were examined from Gujranwala and Jhang districts by using direct and indirect methods under the microscope. Protozoa, nematodes, cestodes and trematodes contributed 69.33, 35.39, 6.61 and 0%, respectively, to the overall prevalence of 54.32%.  The predominant parasite species were in the genera Eimeria (67.87%), followed by Ascaridia (33.93%), Capillaria (11.41%) and Hymenolepsis (6.61%). Age and rearing systems of birds were considered as risk factors for GI parasites. Adult captive birds were more commonly infected (58.05%) than yearlings (37.27). The captive birds reared in aviaries had a higher prevalence of infection (83.51%) than cage-birds (49.23%). In light of these findings, age and rearing systems were identified as highly significant risk factors (P<0.05) for Gl parasitic infection in the captive birds.

To Cite This Article: Akram MZ, Zaman MA, Jalal H, Yousaf S, Khan AY, Farooq MZ, Rehman TU, Sikandar A,  Qamar MF, Bowman DD and Hussain T, 2019. Prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites of captive birds in Punjab, Pakistan. Pak Vet J, 39(1): 132-134. http://dx.doi.org/10.29261/pakvetj/2018.123