Archives

Page No. : 119-121

ABSTRACT

The prevalence of fungi on the egg samples collected from the local market and nearby areas of Palampur, Himachal Pradesh was studied with special emphasis on Aspergillus spp. because of public health importance. The fungal species were differentiated on the basis of their cultural and microscopic morphology. The fungi were present in all the egg samples (100%) and the Aspergillus spp. were found in 61.70% of the egg samples. The Aspergillus spp. was exclusive in 27.66% of egg samples and the Aspergillus spp. was found along with other fungal species in 34.04% of egg samples. The species of Aspergillus which were identified on the basis of macroscopic and microscopic morphology in this work were A. niger, A. fumigatus, A. flavus, A. parasiticus and A. ochraceus in their order of prevalence. The high prevalence of Aspergillus spp. on the egg samples points towards the risk for human health.

Keywords: Aspergillus spp., chicken eggs, prevalence, public health significance