Ciência e Tecnologia Veterinária

Epidemiological and Bacteriological Studies on Dead-in-Shell Embryos

Abstract

Babaca ZAL

The deployment of dead-in-shell embryos, the bacterial etiology of the condition, and the epidemiology of the dead embryos in three local hatcheries in Erbil province were investigated using standard bacteriologic techniques. Deployment of the condition in the three hatcheries was found to be 37%, 21.6% and 40.5% respectively. Bacteria that were isolated arranged in order of decreasing frequency, included Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus spp, Streptococcus spp, Pseudomonas spp.

The number of dead-in-shell embryos in association with the various bacteria isolated from the three hatcheries were 18 (Escherichia. coli), 8 ( Staphylococcus spp), 2 (Streptococcus spp), 9 (Pseudomonas spp). Epidemiologically from this study, it was concluded that dead-in-shell embryos are quite common in hatcheries in Erbil Province and that bacterial contamination in the hatcheries constitute an important threat to the poultry industry in the area.