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Respiratory problems in poultry diagnosis, differential diagnosis treatment, and prevention

"last update: 28 April 2024"  

- General guidelines for the treatment of viral respiratory diseases

There is no specific treatment for viral infections.

  •   Antibiotics for 3–5 days may aid in combating secondary bacterial infections.
  •   Raise the room temperature 5°C for brooding-age chickens until symptoms subside. Baby chicks can be encouraged to eat by using a warm, moist mash.
  •   No treatment due to viral disease, but to avoid secondary infection,
  •   supportive therapy in drinking water.
  •   Electrovit C plus or soluvit E plus Syp Brofin (ibuprofin) 120mg/400 L D W Tylodox (tylosin + doxycycline) 1-2 g/4L D W
  •   Prevention:  biosecurity program and vaccination program when available.

BACTERIAL DISEASES

These include: Coryza (Haemophilus paragalinarum) I.coryza, Mycoplasma/CRD, Pasteurella multocida- F cholera, E. coli, Streptococcosis, Chlamydiosis, Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale.

-some species were more susceptible than others (e.g. F cholera - turkeys).

-Some aspects like the age of the bird are useful in differential diagnosis (F cholera rarely in birds younger than 16 weeks of age).

It is almost impossible to arrive at a presumptive diagnosis of any of the above bacterial diseases on the basis of respiratory signs. mortality, % morbidity, presence of other clinical signs and clinical history are important for diagnosis.

 Gross pathology like perihepatitis and pericarditis usually associated with E.coli are also encountered in Pastuerellosis, Streptococcosis, Chlamydiosis, CRD and Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale. Gross pathology may not be present in acute cases especially when the organism excretes endotoxins or its presence may actually be a result of secondary infection.

Clinical signs: respiratory signs ranging from runny eyes and nostrils to wheezing, sneezing, gasping, and mortality may be encountered. However, for example, the presence of significant mortality among chickens would suggest that Infectious Coryza, CRD, and possibly Chlamydiosis or Ornithobacterium rhinotrachelis are not serious contenders on the differential diagnosis list.

While a unilateral swelling of the face in chickens may indeed indicate presence of Haemophilus paragallinarum, the absence of such a swelling but presence of runny nostrils does not indicate that it is CRD or other bacterial infection in preference to Coryza.