Mycoflora of quail farms in jos, Nigeria

The fungal flora of selected quail farms in Jos, Plateau State Nigeria was investigated. Three prominent farms were sampled in Utan, Angwa Rukuba and Kufang areas of the metropolis. The quail droppings and air spora of the farms were sampled using Sabouraud Dextrose Agar medium. 8 genera of fungi including 2 yeasts, Candida species and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were isolated from the poultry droppings. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) in the frequency of occurrence of the fungal isolates. The C. sp was the dominant species (28.7%) in the three farms under investigation. This was followed by S. cerevisiae (26.0%) and the least by Alternaria alternata (0.4%). In the poultry droppings investigations, the Angwan Rukuba farm had the highest number of isolates 178(38%). Utan farm had 168(36.3%) while Kufang farm had the least number 119 (25.7%). The air spora of the 3 farms harboured 13 species of fungi with Aspergillus species the most dominant. A. niger had the highest frequency of occurrence of 22.7 % from the farms while Mucor racemosus had the least occurrence of 1.5%. Some of the fungal isolates are known to be opportunistic pathogens and mycotoxins producers. The health implications of the isolated fungal species have been discussed.