Global and regional prediction of coccidiosis and ascaridiosis prevalence in extensive backyard chickens in low-income and middle-income countries

Backyard chickens usually have open housing and scavenge for food, facilitating contact with infective forms of parasites present in the environment and increasing the risk of parasitic infections. Coccidiosis and ascaridiosis are two internal parasites in scavenging chickens that cause production losses to farmers. Prevalence data of these two diseases are scarce in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) but necessary to assess the burden of disease in backyard chickens. This study estimates the clinical prevalence of coccidiosis and ascaridiosis at the country and regional levels in all LMICs using regression imputation methods. Regression models were developed with data of known prevalence of these parasites and using primarily climatic factors as predictors. A binomial random effects model was developed for each disease to impute prevalence. The overall estimated prevalence of coccidiosis was 0.39 (95% CI: 0.37-0.42), with a higher mean prevalence in tropical countries. The overall estimated prevalence of ascaridiosis was 0.23 (95% CI: 0.22-0.25) with a higher mean prevalence in countries with tropical, temperate and continental climates. The findings of this study can aid to identify the burdens of coccidiosis and ascaridiosis infections across countries and regions, which can inform disease control plans and, and encourage international alliances to facilitate access to preventive measures, improving animal health and reducing production losses.