Description

Poultry industry is an important portion of the livestock sector contributing in the national economy and the current status of Pakistan poultry industry is about Rs. 100 billion. There are about 25,000 poultry farms in the country. Poultry sector generates employment & income for about twelve hundred thousand people. Its growth rate is 10- 12% annually. Pakistan is producing 10,000 million table eggs & 750 thousand metric tons chicken meat annually. The per capita consumption of meat is 7 kg & 60-65 eggs annually (Anonymous, 2008) but unfortunately so many threats & fatal diseases i.e. bacterial, viral, fungal & parasitic diseases are still disturbing the industry. Among parasitic diseases, coccidiosis is one of the most important hazard. It is the disease of poultry caused by an obligate microscopic protozoan parasite, which belongs to the genus Eimeria (phylum Apicomplexa). Seven Eimeria species have been recognized infecting chicken: E. acervulina, E. maxima, E. tenella, E. brunette, E. necatrix, E. mitis & E. praecox.