Occurrence of parasitic protozoa in wild waterfowl in southern coastal Caspian sea lagoons

Background: protozoa are common in poultry and other birds and can cause mild to severe disease. objectives: this study was concerned with the prevalence of parasitic protozoa in wild waterfowl in caspian sea lagoons in the north of iran. methods: a total of 293 waterfowl belonging to various genera including tadornatadorna (common shelduck), aythyafuligula (tufted duck), aythyaferina (common puchard), spatula clypeata (shoveler), anseranser (greylag goose), cygnus cygnus (whooper swan), anasstrepera (gadwall), anas penelope (eurasian widgeon), anascrecca (common teal), and anasplatyrhynchos (mallard) were sampled and tested for intestinal, tracheal, and blood protozoa between winter 2010 and spring 2011. results: the results showed that 184 birds of 293 (62.8%) harbored protozoan parasites. the highest prevalence of protozoan contamination belonged to giardia spp (24.2%) and the lowest belonged to haemoproteus spp. (6.1%). thricomunasgallinea, plasmodium spp., and cryptosporidium spp. were found in 7.2%, 8.2%, and 17% of waterfowl, respectively. moreover, statistical analyses showed that the highest rate of giardiosis was in female aythyafuligula (43.75%). however, tricomuniasis belonged to anascrecca (30.5%). on the other hand, female cygnus cygnus had the highest rate of cryptosporidiosis (44.7%), and more infection to haemoproteus and plasmodium spp. were observed in anasplatyrhynchos, concurrently. conclusions: migration of various species of waterfowl toward the northern parts of iran has an important impact on parasitic diseases in birds and human in these regions.