Incidence of cysticercoids in the lesser mealworm beetles in commercial poultry farm

Authors

  • Magudapathy Senthilkumar Buven Prasad Department of Veterinary Parasitology, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Namakkal-637 002, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Tamil Nadu, India
  • Sadhasivam Chakkaravarthi Department of Veterinary Parasitology, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Namakkal-637 002, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Tamil Nadu, India
  • Sivalingam Brindhadevi Department of Veterinary Parasitology, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Namakkal-637 002, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Tamil Nadu, India
  • Madhu Boomika Department of Veterinary Parasitology, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Namakkal-637 002, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Tamil Nadu, India
  • Dasari Udisha Department of Veterinary Parasitology, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Namakkal-637 002, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Tamil Nadu, India
  • Rangasamy Velusamy Department of Veterinary Parasitology, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Namakkal-637 002, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Tamil Nadu, India
  • Bonthala Nikhila Department of Veterinary Parasitology, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Namakkal-637 002, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Tamil Nadu, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.48165/ijvsbt.22.5.29

Keywords:

Cysticercoids, Alphitobius diaperinus, tapeworm, Raillietina cesticillus, Poultry

Abstract

Tapeworms are the major consistent problem in intensive commercial poultry farms and transmitted to other birds by various invertebrate hosts dwelling in the poultry litter. Beetles are the major pests, causing not only economic losses but also spreading various pathogenic diseases leading to reduced growth and productivity in birds. The beetles were collected from commercial poultry farm suspected with tapeworm infection. A total of 120 beetles were collected and examined for their vector potentiality. Out of these, 51 (42.5%) were found to harbour the cysticercoids of Raillietina cesticillus. The beetles harbouring cysticercoids were identified as Alphitobius diaperinus (lesser mealworm beetle), which is the natural intermediate host for poultry tapeworm, Raillietina cesticillus in Namakkal area. Effective control of tapeworm infection can only be possible through the control of intermediate hosts rather than indiscriminate use of anthelmintics against the tapeworms in chicken.

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Published

2026-08-22

Issue

Vol. 22 No. 5 (2026): The Indian Journal of Veterinary Sciences and Biotechnology (IJVSBT) ( Sep-Oct) 2025

Section

Short Communication

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Copyright (c) 2026 Indian Journal of Veterinary Sciences and Biotechnology

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Buven Prasad, M. S., Chakkaravarthi, S., Brindhadevi, S., Boomika, M., Udisha, D., Velusamy, R., & Nikhila, B. (2026). Incidence of cysticercoids in the lesser mealworm beetles in commercial poultry farm. Indian Journal of Veterinary Sciences and Biotechnology, 22(5), 159-162. https://doi.org/10.48165/ijvsbt.22.5.29