ABSTRACT

The study was conducted to detect the prevalence of haemoprotozoan parasites in the domestic and wild pigeons in Niğde province.

The study material included a total of 216 pigeons, which comprised 105 domestic (55 females, 50 males) and 111 wild (53 females, 58 males) pigeons belonging to Niğde province. Smears were prepared using the blood collected from the vena cutanea ulnaris of the pigeons and then examined for the presence of haemoprotozoan parasites under a light microscope using immersion objective.

The microscopic examination of the smears showed that 107 (49.54%) of the 216 pigeons were infected with Haemoproteus columbae. The samples collected from 9 (8.57%) of the 105 domestic pigeons and 98 (88.29%) of the 111 wild pigeons were positive for H. columbae. The positivity rates of H. columbae between the domestic and wild pigeons were calculated to be statistically significant (p<0.01). The average level of parasitaemia in the 107 pigeons infected with H. columbae was detected to be 2.85%. On the other hand, Plasmodium, Leucocytozoon, and Trypanosomaspecies were not observed in the blood smears of the pigeons.

This is the first survey regarding H. columbae performed on the domestic and wild pigeons in Niğde province.

Keywords: Haemoproteus columbae, haemoprotozoan, pigeon, Niğde