author(s)
Gautam Patra, Parthasarathi Behera, Lallianpuii Kawlni, Basanta Saikia, Subhamoy Ghosh, Chirom Nishita Devi and Apurba Debbarma

abstract
The main objective of this study is to record the prevalence of haemoprotozoan Hepatozoon in various species of snake blood by conventional blood film examination as well as by molecular technique. A total of 100 blood samples from both poisonous and non-poisonous snakes were examined over a period of one year from July, 2016 to June, 2017 from different parts of Mizoram. Twenty blood samples were found positive for Hepatozoon spp. by blood film examination, while twenty five samples were found positive for PCR. Gametocytes of the parasite were observed inside the RBC. Some were found free in the plasma. They were broadly elongate in shape. Nuclei of the infected erythrocytes were pushed to one side of the host cell. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) selectively amplified a fragment length of about 253bp. The study indicates that Hepatozoon infection is quite common in snakes.