Physiological, Histopathological, and Molecular Characterizations of Escherichia coli Infection in Commercial Laying Hens in Basrah Governorate, Iraq

Abbas, Salma Saeed and Ali, Rajaa Abd Alzahra and Saood, Alaa Ismail and Seger, Waleed Majeed and Najem, Harith Abdulla and Khaleefah, Isam Azeez and Abdulrasol, Muhammadtaher Abdulrazaq (2026) Physiological, Histopathological, and Molecular Characterizations of Escherichia coli Infection in Commercial Laying Hens in Basrah Governorate, Iraq. Journal of World's Poultry Research. 157 - 167. ISSN 2322455X

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Abstract

Colibacillosis represents one of the most important bacterial diseases affecting poultry production, particularly in commercial laying hens, where it leads to marked economic losses. The present study aimed to evaluate the physiological, histopathological, and molecular characteristics of Escherichia coli (E. coli) infection in commercial laying hens in Basrah Governorate, Iraq. A total of 250 laying hens aged 35 weeks with clinical signs and postmortem lesions of colibacillosis were examined. Bacterial isolation was performed using conventional culture methods, followed by molecular confirmation using PCR targeting the 16S rRNA gene. Blood samples were collected for hematological analysis, and tissue samples from the liver and oviduct were processed for histopathological examination. The results showed a clear decrease in red blood cell (RBC) count, white blood cell (WBC) count, hemoglobin (Hb), and hematocrit (Hct) values in infected hens compared with healthy controls. In contrast, mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) were significantly increased in infected hens compared with healthy controls. Histopathological findings showed severe pathological alterations in the liver and oviduct, including vascular congestion, inflammatory cell infiltration, vacuolation, hemorrhage, and necrosis. Molecular analysis confirmed the presence of E. coli through successful amplification of the 16S rRNA gene. The findings of the current study suggest that E. coli infection induces marked physiological and tissue-level alterations in laying hens, which may adversely affect their health and productivity, highlighting the need for effective control measures on poultry farms. © The Author(s) 2026. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article�s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article�s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	16S rRNA; Colibacillosis; Hematological parameters; Liver; Oviduct; PCR
Subjects:	S Agriculture > SF Animal culture
Page Range:	157 - 167
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of World's Poultry Research
Journal Index:	Scopus
Volume:	16
Number:	2
Publisher:	Scienceline Publication
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.36380/jwpr.2026.15
ISSN:	2322455X
Depositing User:	Dr. Daryoush Babazadeh
URI:	https://eprints.science-line.com/id/eprint/1772

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