PHENOTYPIC CHARACTERIZATION OF SOME PATHOGENIC FUNGI ISOLATED FROM POULTRY AND THEIR SURROUNDINGS IN EL–GHARBIA GOVERNORATE, EGYPT

Poultry production is affected by several fungal diseases. Such fungal infection occurs in poultry farms via using a moldy litter, or ingestion of contaminated drinking water or moldy ration. In this study, a total of 210 birds with a history of respiratory distress of different breeds were collected randomly from sporadic different private farms and hatcheries in El–Gharbia Governorate, Egypt. The birds were sacrificed, then a total of 1050 tissue specimens from lung, air sacs, liver, crop and trachea were collected. In addition, 40 samples of poultry ration, 14 bedding materials, 4 air samples and 29 water samples were also collected. The collected samples were cultured on Sabouraud’s agar plates. Macromorphological and micromorphological fungal examinations were performed for phenotypic characterization. Histopathological examinations were also performed using with hematoxylin and eosin stains. Antifungal sensitivity testing was screened using Mueller’s Hinton Agar for studying the susceptibility of the recovered fungal isolates to the most commonly used antifungal drugs in Egypt, namely amphotericin B, clotrimazole, fluconazole, itraconazole, ketoconazole, and nystatin. The obtained results demonstrated that mold isolation was the highest in the collected samples from birds at 36.84%, followed by drinking water (31.57%). The highest incidence of mold isolation was recorded at the lungs of broilers and baladi birds followed by the air sacs. While in saso birds, the highest incidence was at the air sac. Collectively, 97 mold strains were identified from the lung, 74 from the air sacs, 30 from the liver, 61 from the trachea, and 44 from the crop. In addition, 19 mold isolates were recovered from the bird surroundings. Aspergillus niger as well as Penicillium chrysogenum were recovered and showed resistance to ketoconazole, while Cladosporium perangustum was resistant to fluconazole. All of the isolated molds were sensitive to itraconazole and nystatin except A. flavus that was resistant to nystatin. All Aspergillus spp. were resistant to fluconazole except A. niger. In conclusion, Aspergillus spp. was the most associated mold with poultry species and their surroundings in Egypt farms. Itraconazole and nystatin could be applied as proper antifungal drugs the control of for Aspergillus infection in birds.