Development of SWIFTR technology for rapid on-farm detection of the Eimeria parasite

Developing solutions that will improve overall productivity, sustainability, and resilience in animal production is essential in modern agriculture and to ensure future food safety.

Coccidiosis, one of the most common intestinal diseases in poultry, is caused by the protozoan parasite _Eimeria_. Although present in most poultry operations, _Eimeria_ infections can develop clinical symptoms in chickens when the birds, usually young, ingest a relatively large number of the protozoan parasite sporulated oocysts. The parasite not only causes health issues to the chickens but also significant economic losses to the farmers.

It is estimated that the global poultry industry loses approximately £10.4billion annually to coccidiosis. In the UK alone, coccidiosis costs farmers £99.2million per year. These losses include direct costs due to mortality, reduced growth rates and decreased feed conversion rates, but also indirect costs involving prevention and treatment.

Current control of coccidiosis is based on the use of anticoccidial drugs or vaccines. However, with the overuse and misuse of these drugs _Eimeria_ have developed resistance to anticoccidial drugs. This, together with the wish from the industry to move away from using anticoccidial drugs in the near future, makes prevention of coccidiosis a priority for farmers.

An important key step to achieve prevention is to be able to detect and monitor _Eimeria_ oocysts levels in poultry production accurately and timely. Current methods for the detection of the protozoan are lengthy (3 days), time-consuming and involve specialized equipment and trained personnel. Simplifying the detection and monitoring process and reducing the time to results from days to hours will have a significant impact on managing coccidiosis, preventing spread, improving the welfare of the chickens and reducing losses for our farmers.

GAIN Holdings is developing rapid 'point-of-test' devices for the identification of pathogens for the agricultural and food industry, using its patented SWIFTR technology. In this project we propose to demonstrate that our technology can be applied to the detection of _Eimeria spp_. infections on farm. Point-of-test tools that can detect Eimeria in animal production in as little as 1 hour will help farmers in the UK and worldwide reduce the burden of coccidiosis and reduce the economic losses associated with it.