hadjelia truncata infection among quails (coturnix coturnix) in semnan city, iran

Hadjelia truncata is a spirurida nematode with an indirect life cycle that can infect the digestive system of birds. different beetles can be intermediate hosts. birds were infected by ingesting beetles containing infective larvae. the worms can be diagnosed by light microscope and molecular techniques. the disease manifestation among birds can range from asymptomatic to severe, leading to death. this report describes the infection of quails’ gizzards with h. truncata in iran. twenty-five referred gastrointestinal tracts of naturally dead quails were inspected. eighteen h. truncata nematodes were removed from 6 gizzards (24%) of 25 gastrointestinal samples. all the removed worms were located between the submucosal and muscular layers of the infected gizzards. because of postmortem alterations, the histopathological sections of infected gizzards could not be performed. this report is the first observation of h. truncata infection among quails. this worm has been previously reported among pigeons (columba livia domestica) and hoopoes (upupa epops).