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Intestinal helminth infection of pigeons (Columba livia domestica): Prevalence and histopathology Cover

Intestinal helminth infection of pigeons (Columba livia domestica): Prevalence and histopathology

Helminthologia
Volume 62 (2025): Issue 2 (June 2025)
By:
Open Access
|Sep 2025

Figures & Tables

Fig 1.

The detected lice. (A) Ventral side of C. compar (10X); (B) Dorsal side of C. compar (5X); (C) Male of C. tschulyschman (10X); (D) Female of C. tschulyschman (10X).
The detected lice. (A) Ventral side of C. compar (10X); (B) Dorsal side of C. compar (5X); (C) Male of C. tschulyschman (10X); (D) Female of C. tschulyschman (10X).

Fig 2.

The detected endoparasites. (A) The dissected intestine showing the released cestodes; (B) R. tetragona; (C) R. micracantha; (D) C. digonopora; (E) C. intermedia; (F) B. columba; (G) C. infundibulum; (H) A. columbae (anterior part); (I) A. columbae (middle region).
The detected endoparasites. (A) The dissected intestine showing the released cestodes; (B) R. tetragona; (C) R. micracantha; (D) C. digonopora; (E) C. intermedia; (F) B. columba; (G) C. infundibulum; (H) A. columbae (anterior part); (I) A. columbae (middle region).

Fig 3.

Photomicrograph of intestine tissue sections (stained with H & E), at 40X. (A) Duodenal part infected with cestodes, shows destruction and shrinkage; (B) Atrophic hyperplasia in the infected ileum with cestode; (C) Rectum infected with cestodes shows inflammation of villi; (D) Inflammation in infected rectum with cestodes; (E) Inflammation in caecum infected with cestode; (F) Death of cells in infected intestine with nematode; (G) Migratory tunnels formation in intestine infected with nematode; (H, I) Intestine infected with nematode shows infiltration of lymphocytes, inflammation and histological hyperplasia.
Photomicrograph of intestine tissue sections (stained with H & E), at 40X. (A) Duodenal part infected with cestodes, shows destruction and shrinkage; (B) Atrophic hyperplasia in the infected ileum with cestode; (C) Rectum infected with cestodes shows inflammation of villi; (D) Inflammation in infected rectum with cestodes; (E) Inflammation in caecum infected with cestode; (F) Death of cells in infected intestine with nematode; (G) Migratory tunnels formation in intestine infected with nematode; (H, I) Intestine infected with nematode shows infiltration of lymphocytes, inflammation and histological hyperplasia.

Prevalence of ectoparasitic infestation in relation to sex of the pigeons_

GenderInfected, N (%)Uninfected, N (%)P-value
Male (30)25 (83.33)5 (16.66)0.189
Female (20)11 (55)9 (45)
Total (50)36 (72)14 (28)

Demographic characteristics of the samples studied_

GenderInfected, N (%)Uninfected, N (%)P-value
Male (15)12 (803 (20)0.389
Female (6)3 (50)3 (50)
Total (21)15 (71.4)6 (28.5)

Prevalence of lice species in domestic pigeons_

ParasiteInfected, N (%)Uninfected, N (%)Total, N (%)P-value
C. tschulyschman30 (83.33)6 (16.66)36 (100)< 0.001
C. compar6 (16.66)30 (83.33)36 (100)

Detected triple cestode parasitic infection in relation to the pigeon sex_

ParasitesMale, N (%)Female, N (%)Total, N (%)P-value
R. tetragona + R. micracantha + C. digonopora5 (41.66)05 (41.6)0.375
R. tetragona + R. micracantha + C. intermedia1 (8.33)1 (8.33)2 (16.6)
R. tetragona + R. micracantha + B. columbae1 (8.33)1 (8.33)2 (16.6)
R. tetragona + R. micracantha + C. infundibulum2 (16.66)1 (8.33)3 (24.9)
Total9 (75)3 (25)12 (100)

Prevalence of nematode and cestode parasites infection, based on the sex of the 21 pigeons examined_

ParasitesMale, N (%)Female, N (%)Total, N (%)P-value
R. tetragona + R. micracantha9 (42.85)3 (14.28)12 (57.1)0.502
C. digonopora5 (23.8)05 (23.8)
C. intermedia1 (4.76)1 (4.76)2 (9.52)
B. columbae1 (4.76)1 (4.76)2 (9.52)
C. infundibulum2 (9.52)1 (4.76)3 (14.28)
A. columbae3 (14.28)03 (14.28)

Detected quadruple parasitic infection in relation to the pigeon sex_

Male (N=1, 6.66%)Female (N=1, 6.66%)P-value
C. tschulyschma + R. tetragona + R. micracantha + C. intermediaC. compar + R. tetragona + R. micracantha + B. columbae0.158
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/helm-2025-0022 | Journal eISSN: 1336-9083 | Journal ISSN: 0440-6605
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Language: English
Page range: 135 - 143
Submitted on: Jan 31, 2025
Accepted on: Jul 25, 2025
Published on: Sep 30, 2025
Published by: Slovak Academy of Sciences
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 4 times per year
Keywords:
pigeons,
parasitic infestation,
histopathological changes,
endoparasites,
ectoparasites
Related subjects:
Life sciences,
Zoology,
Ecology,
Life sciences, other,
Medicine,
Clinical medicine,
Microbiology, virology and infection epidemiology

© 2025 W. Khan, Z. Masood, M. H. Wakid, M. Bibi, S. Gul, E. Ahmad, P. De Los Rios Escalante, Y. A. J. Fadladdin, A. B. Ismael, A. A. Swelum, published by Slovak Academy of Sciences
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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