Volume 15, Issue 2: 2025 - Article 198

Abstract
Poultry meat is a rich source of proteins, vitamins and minerals. Poultry production faces several challenges, one of which is the occurrence of poultry diseases such as coccidiosis.  This present study investigated the efficacy of the most commonly used anti-coccidial drugs in broilers experimentally infected with Eimeria species. Forty two broiler chickens were used for the study. They were randomly assigned to six groups (A, B, C, D, E and F) of seven birds each. Chickens in Groups A, B, C, D and E were experimentally infected with Eimeria species on day 21 of age (100,000 sporulated Eimeria oocysts per/ml per chick), while Group F chickens served as the uninfected control. Three days post-infection, the infected groups were treated as follows: Group A – Sulphaquinoxaline + diaveridine combination; Group B – Diclazuril; Group C – Tortrazuril; Group D – Diclazuril + Tylosin tartrate combination; Group E – Infected untreated group. The treatment was done for the number of days specified by each drug’s manufacturer. Observed clinical signs of coccidiosis, mortality, weight gain, mean faecal oocyst count, feed conversion efficiency, packed cell volume (PCV) and red blood cell (RBC) counts were determined and recorded across 18 days period post-infection.  Results showed that treatment with all the anti-coccidial drugs used minimized coccidiosis related mortality, oocyst count per gramme of faeces, improved weight gain, PCV, RBC counts and feed conversion ratio, when compared to infected-untreated control. Broiler chickens in Groups A, B and C had the lowest mortality. Group B chickens (treated  with Diclazuril) had the lowest faecal oocysts count among the infected groups and also the highest weight gain and better feed conversion than those of other infected groups, which suggests that diclazuril exhibited better efficacy in the treatment of experimental Eimeria infection in the broiler chickens.

Keywords: Broiler chickens; Coccidiosis; Eimeria species; Treatment; Anti-coccidial drugs.

How to cite this article:
Aneru GE, Agigide JU, Obi CF, Nzeakor TE, Oyiga CT, Okpara MI, Idika IK, Ezema AS and Nwosu CO (2025). Comparative efficacy of commonly used anti-coccidial drugs in broiler chickens experimentally infected with Eimeria species. Journal of Veterinary and Applied Sciences, 15(2): 1142 – 1152.

*Correspondence: E-mail:  ganiru.aneru@unn.edu.ng      Phone: +2348035973500

Comparative efficacy of commonly used anti-coccidial drugs in broiler chickens experimentally infected with Eimeria species
Ganiyu E. Aneru ¹ *, Joseph  U. Agigide ¹, Chukwunonso F. Obi ¹, Terry E. Nzeakor ¹, Chidubem T. Oyiga ¹, Michael I. Okpara ¹, Idika  K. Idika ¹, Arinze S. Ezema ² and Chukwunyere O. Nwosu ¹

¹ Department of Veterinary Parasitology and Entomology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria.
² Department of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria.

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