Respiratory problems in poultry diagnosis, differential diagnosis treatment, and prevention
"last update: 28 April 2024"
- Guideline for bacterial isolation and tissues transportation
Doing a post-mortem in the middle of summer and leaving the designated lab tissues unchilled for longer than 10 minutes may be required to ensure that a positive case of infectious coryza is not diagnosed as Haemophilus paragallinarum can be inactivated rapidly outside the live bird, and at a temperature of 370C the opportunity for survival is only 24 hours.
Mycoplasma requires very specific transport and storage conditions including temperature and time. Tissues must be transported on dry ice until ready to be cultured on media inoculated with penicillin.
Both colibacillosis and Streptococcosis are considered secondary pathogens and likely to be associated with damage to the respiratory tract by other organisms and /or stress factors. However, it is important to consider that especially Colisepticemia as a result of inhaled E. coli contaminated dust can easily occur and furthermore, lesions of Colisepticemia have been produced readily and quickly following inoculation of pathogenic E. coli into the air sacs of healthy chickens. Chlamydiosis is often excluded in cases involving respiratory signs of poultry. The disease is believed to be rare in chickens world-wide but more common in ducks and turkeys. Mortality varied between flocks ranging from no increase in mortality to 7% - 10% mortality in commercial young pullets. Morbidity also varied and in some cases up to 20% morbidity was reported. Clinical signs vary between cases and included; conjunctivitis (dry and wet), birds continuously scratching their eyes, blindness, periorbital swelling, nasal discharge, cough and gasping. On P.M. the following lesions were observed; Interstitial pneumonia, tracheitis, airsaculitis, pericarditis, perihepatitis and splenomegaly.
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Bacterial disease |
Treatment of bacterial respiratory diseases |
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Pasteurella multocida |
Most isolates from poultry are susceptible to the tetracyclines. Injectable oxytetracycline has been successful in controlling experimentally induced fowl cholera in turkeys. The most commonly used treatments for fowl cholera in commercial turkeys include chlortetracycline administered in feed or water and sulfadimethoxine in the water. |
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I. Coryza |
Water soluble antibiotics or antibacterials can be used. Sulfadimethoxine is the preferred treatment. If it is not available, or not effective, sulfamethazine erythromycin (or tetracycline can be used as alternative treatments. Sulfa drugs are not approved for pullets older than 14 weeks of age or commercial layer hens. While antibiotics can be effective in reducing clinical disease, they do not eliminate carrier birds |
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CHLAMYDIOSIS (Ornithosis, Psittacosis, Parrot fever) |
Chlorotetracycline can be given in the feed (200–400 g/ton) for 3 weeks. Other antibiotics are usually ineffective. Recovered birds are safe for processing. |
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MYCOPLASMA (CRD) |
Erythromycin, tylosin, spectinomycin, and lincomycin all exhibit anti-mycoplasma activity and have given good results. Administration of most of these antibiotics can be by feed, water or injection. In commercial poultry, feed medication with either of the tetracyclines at 200 g/ton for several days is a common practice. Water-soluble tetracyclines are also available. Subcutaneous injection of tylosin at 3 to 5 mg/lb body weight or administration in the drinking water at 2 g/gallon for 3 to 5 days is also recommended. Antibiotic treatment, although palliative, does not eliminate infection with the avian mycoplasmas.These are effective in reducing clinical disease. However, birds remain carriers for life Prevention: Eradication is the best control of mycoplasma disease. |
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E.coli |
Antibiotic sensitivity test |
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Aspergillosis |
There is no cure for infected birds. The spread can be controlled by improving ventilation, eliminating the source of the infection, and adding a fungistat (mycostatin, mold curb, sodium or calcium propionate, or gentian violet) to the feed and/or copper sulfate or acidified copper in the drinking water for 3 days. The litter can be sprayed lightly with an oil-base germicide to control dust and air movement of fungal spores,thoroughly clean and disinfect the |
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PARASITIC Syngamiasis |
thiabendazole at 454 g/ton in the feed for 14 days. Levamisole administered in the drinking water at 1 g/gallon of drinking. This treatment should be repeated in 7 to 14 days |
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Trichomoniasis |
Flagel |
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Vitamin A deficiency |
Fat soluble. Vit in drinking water |
