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CLINICAL REPORTOxyspirura mansoniIN BACKYARD POULTRY OF KERALA1 2 2 2Deepu Philip Mathew , Priya M .N ., Deepa C.K ., Syamala K .,2 2Ajithkumar K. G . and Reghu RavindranCollege of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, PookotABSTRACT:A few birds reared by a private owner as backyard poultry were brought to the Veterinary Dispensary,Thiruvanvandoor, with the complaint of inability to open the eyes. Irritation and secretion of tears from the eyesof birds were observed. White, small, thread like nematode worms recovered from the eyes, The worms wereidentified as Oxyspirura mansoni based on morphology.INTRODUCTION:Despite a tremendous increase in the commercialrearing, rural poultry still constitutes 80 per cent ofour total poultry population. Though the prevalenceof parasitic infections are less in commercialsystem due to the non availability of intermediatehosts, helminth infections are high in free range andbackyard systems due to exposure to reservoirhosts and unscientific management practices(Permin et al., 1999). The present study deals withthe occurrence of Oxyspirura mansoni, the eyeworm of chicken.MATERIALS AND METHODS:The birds were brought to VeterinaryDispensary, Thiruvanvandoor, Alappuzha with thecomplaint of inability to open the eyes andprotrusion of the nictitating membrane. The ownercomplained of irritation and inflammation withsecretion of tears from the eyes of birds. The birdswere reared as back yard poultry by the farmer.Examination of eyes revealed the presence of largenumber of live worms under the nictitatingmembrane. Worms recovered from the eyes weresent to the Department of Veterinary Parasitology,1. Veterinary surgeon, Veterinary Dispensary,Thiruvanvandoor, Alapuzha2. Assistant Professor Department of Veterinary Parasitology,College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pookot, Lakkidi,P. O., Wayanad.College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pookotfor identification.These parasites were then processed bydehydrating in ascending grades of alcoholfollowed by clearing using creosote. The specieswas identified based on morphology according toSoulsby (1982).RESULT:The worms were white, small and threadlike measuring a little over half an inch in length.The male worms were smaller than the females.Microscopically, the mouth opening was large,circular and devoid of lips. The pharynx wasobserved to be hourglass shaped (Fig.1). The tailend of the male was curved ventrally while infemales it was straight. Two unequal spicules werepresent on the posterior end of the males. One of thespicule was long and slender while the other wasshort and thick (Fig. 2). There were six pairs ofgenital papillae on the posterior end of the male. Inthe female, the vulva was located ventrally in theposterior half of the body.The worms wereidentified as Oxyspirura mansoni based on Soulsby(1982). The affected birds were treated withAlbendazole 2.5 percent suspension topically byinstilling a drop each into the eyes two times a dayfor 3 days consecutively. The complete flockincluding the affected birds was dewormed withJIVA Vol. 10 Issue 1 April 201243