Prevalence and Association of spp., spp., and sp. in Poultry.

Poultry and poultry meat are considered the most important sources of human campylobacteriosis and salmonellosis. However, data about the occurrence of and concomitantly with intestinal protozoa such as sp. in poultry remain very scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the presence and possible interactions between these three microorganisms in fecal samples from 214 chickens collected either on farms or from live bird markets in Egypt. The results obtained showed that spp., spp., and sp. were present in 91.6% (196/214), 44.4% (95/214), and 18.2% (39/214) of tested samples, respectively, highlighting an active circulation of these microorganisms. Moreover, a significant positive correlation was reported between the occurrence of spp. and sp. together with a significant negative correlation between sp. and spp. This study confirms the association reported previously between sp. and spp. while disclosing an association between sp. and spp.; it also highlights the need to improve studies on the interactions between bacteria and eukaryotes in the gut microbiota of poultry.