Occurrence of enteric infections in the poultry population of Assam

Abstract

The present investigation was conducted to determine the occurrence of enteric infections in the chicken population in and around Guwahati, Assam. The study was carried out for a period of one year from November 2024 to October 2025 at the Department of Veterinary Pathology, College of Veterinary Science, Assam Veterinary & Fishery University, Guwahati. During the period of study, a total of 298 poultry carcasses of different age groups, breeds and housing systems were examined, out of which 160 birds (53.69%) showed lesions suggestive of enteric infections. Housing system-wise analysis revealed higher occurrence of enteric infections in birds reared under free-range/backyard system (65.00%) compared to those maintained under intensive housing system (49.54%). Age-wise analysis indicated the highest occurrence in birds of 3-6 weeks of age group (33.12%), followed by 0-3 weeks (26.25%), above 6-9 weeks (16.87%), above 9-12 weeks (13.12%) and above 12 weeks (10.62%). Season-wise highest occurrence was recorded during the monsoon season (36.25%) followed by pre-monsoon (27.50%), post-monsoon (22.50%) and winter (13.75%). Breed-wise highest occurrence was observed in Kamrupa breed (34.37%) followed by Dahlem Red (21.87%), BV-300 (16.25%), PB2 (15.00%) and Sonali (12.50%).