Fungal and Metabolic Poultry Diseases Flashcards
You necropsy a bird (any bird) with multiple tan nodules within the pulmonary parenchyma, granulomas in the trachea, lungs and air sacs, as well as fungal plaques in the trachea and air sacs. What is your go-to diagnosis?
Aspergillosis!
Aspergillus fumigatus most commonly
Keep humidity low!
Poultry that were kept in a warm moist shed present with flour-like substance on the comb and enlarged dark feather follicles. What is this affliction?
Dermatomycosis (Favus)
Microsporum gallinae
A bird presents for necropsy with white mucoid material covering the oral mucosa with a fruity odor. There is thickened, rugose mucosa with white plaques on the mouth, esophagus and crop. What do you suspect>
Candidiasis
Candida albicans
Put Nystatin in feed or copper sulfate in water
A flock of ducks are exhibiting feed refusal and black diarrhea. What do you suspect first?
Mycotoxicosis!
Aflatoxin causes black diarrhea
Check feed
Leghorns present for necropsy with necrotic beaks, combs and toes, as well as coalescing vesicles and crusts on the comb, watles, face and eyelids. What do you suspect?
Ergotism
Claviceps purpura a fungus from rye, wheat and other cereal grains
Caused by peripheral vascular constriction–> necrosis
What is the diagnosis when you find yellow ulcers or crusts on the roof of the mouth near the corners of the beak?
T2 Mycotoxin
Chickens present after decreased weight gain. They have enlarged liver, kidneys, pancreas and proventriculus. A horse on the farm got into the chicken feed and developed leukoencephalomalacia. Yea, that totally happened. What could be going on here?
Fumonisin B1
Fursarium monoliforme
If turkeys start developing precocial struttin and dewlap and caruncle production, what would you suspect?
Zearalenone
Gibberella zeae
Estrogenic toxin
Chickens present after inappetence, unsteady gait, recumbency, anemia and bloody to black diarrhea before death. On necropsy they have enlarged livers with yellow to red discoloration and enlarged kidneys. There is centrilobular necrosis of hepatocytes on histology, as well as hepatocyte regeneration and bile duct hyperplasia. What is your top differential?
Aflatoxin
Produced by Asper flavus/parasiticus and penicillium puberlum
On necropsy, a chicken has pale discoloration of the liver and kidneys, enteritis and thymic atrophy. What toxin is likely responsible?
Ochratoxins
From Penicillium veredictum and Aspergillus ochraceus
What toxin found in peanuts, rice and corn can cause nephrosis, avisceral gout in acute form and articular gout in subacute intoxication>
Oosporein
From Chaetomium spp.
What toxin causes a dilated proventriculus with thickened and ulcerated mucosa, necrotic mucosa of ventriculus and necrosis of the liver and spleen?
Cyclopiazonic acid
Formed by Aspergillus flavus and Penicilium spp.
What are good practices to prevent mycotoxin?
Activated charcoal in feed Wood's lamp the feed or quick tests Routine feed bin cleaning Control temp and humidity swings Propionic acid in feed decreases fungal growth DO NOT FEED CORN SCREENINGS
What is the risk of feeding Corn screenings?
Mycotoxins!
What is the syndrome in broilers that occurs after too-rapid growth, where ther eis ascitid fluid and clotting, shrinken firm liver with a thickened capsule and an elarged flabby heart
Ascites Syndrome
“High Altitude Disease”
“Water Belly”
What is dilated cardiomyopathy known as in Turkeys?
Round Heart Disease of Turkeys
Too-rapid growth!
A duck presents with dilated cardiomyopathy and enlarged cystic testes. What is the term for this
Cardiomyopathy of ducks
What can cause an intra-abdominal hemorrhage from a ruptured aorta in turkeys?
Aortic Rupture
Copper deficiency –> decrease fibrin/elastin connections
What age to turkeys present with perirenal hemorrhage?
Male turkeys 8-14 weeks of age
Hemorrhage under capsules
When you see yellow crusts in the eyes with squamous metaplasia around the face, with white to yellow raised lesion sin the mouth and esophagus, what are you suspecting?
Hypovitaminosis A (deficiency)
An obese hen presents with vent prolapse and an pale hemorrhagic liver
Fatty Liver Syndrome
A chicken has an enlarged mottled liver and spleen with unclotted blood in the coelomic cavity. What is this called?
Layer Hepatitis Syndrome
Possible etiology: Hepatitis E virus
A layer hen presents with soft bones, collapsed ribs and S-shaped keel bone. What is this called?
Cage Layer Fatigue
Inadequate calcium, Phosphorus and or vit D
In young growing animals, there are soft malformed bones with some fractures of the bony processes of the spine. What is the cause?
Rickets
Inadequate Ca, P, VitD or improper Ca:P ratio
Some blame poor feed quality
Deep Pectoral myopathy is caused by what?
Excessive wing flapping
Fascial sheath and keel bone underneath
Don’t eat dead muscle. Is aseptic necrosis
What can cause tibial dyschondroplasia in chickens?
Genetics Copper deficiency Elevated cysteine and homocysteine Elevated Vitamin A Foudn in 30% of normal broilers
What is the term for a slipped tendon?
Perosis
What is the cause of hemorrhagic and edematous cerebellum, white muscles and exudative diathesis?
Vitamin E deficiency
You open up a dead bird and there are hard white mineral chalky accumulations on multiple organ serosa, especially in the pericardium. What is the problem here?
Visceral gout!
Caused by excess calcium, deficient phosphorous, dehydration, always kidney damage, infectious bronchitis and or avian nephritis virus
Articular gout is more commonly caused by what?
Excess dietary protein. The kidneys may be normal
You open up a bird and the internal organs are covered in yolk and it stinks. Why?
Egg yolk peritonitis
You open up a bird and it has a gigantic enlarge oviduct. You cut it and there is a big rotten hardened egg in there. What is this called?
Salpingitis
There is a clear tubular structure in the right side of the hen that is filled with clear fluid. It extends cranially from the cloaca. What is this thingy?
Cystic persistant right ovary
You open a hen and find a random yolk in her coelomic cavity. What would we call her?
An Internal Layer
What can cause ulcerative keratitis in a commercial flock of birds?
High ammonia levels
15 day old broiler chickens are found dead on their back. On necropsy they have feed in the crop and proventriculus and intestines are filled with ingesta, the muscles are mottled red / white, with congested edematous lungs. What is this syndrome?
“Flip over Syndrome” in Broilers
A 15 day old broiler presents after it was in sternal recumbency with head tremors and apparent blindness. The intestines were empty on necropsy. What is a likely cause?
Hypoglycemia in Broilers
aka Spiking Mortality Syndrome
What type of disinfectant often has a milky appearance (like necropsy room foot bath), is corrosive and irritating, smells like Lysol, and Kills gram positive best, followed by gram negative?
Phenols
What family of detergents have broad spectrum antibacterial activity, are non-corrosive, smell nice and are safe to use with animal present?
Quaternary ammoniums
What disinfectant works on a broad spectrum, kills spores, kills by linking proteins and used to be used more frequently to fumigate settings?
Formaldehyde
What type of disinfectants are corrosive, broad spectrum with a quick kill, can be used with animals present, are inactivated in presence of organic material and is inexpensive?
Halogens
Chlorine, Iodine
Bleach! (sodium hypochlorite)
What type of disinfectant is a coal tar distillate that has good gram negative activity, is irritating, still effective in presence of organic material and is often combined with phenolics?
Cresols
“Pantek” “185” “Biolene”
Name three oxidizing agents
Quicklime (releases heat and oxygen in contact with water, caustic), Hydrogen peroxide , Virkon (oxidizes sulfur bonds)
If you walk into an enclosure and you see a pile of dead animals with small puncture wounds around head, what animal likely killed them?
Mink!
You find one chicken dead with the vent eaten. Parts of the egg shells were left on the nest. What predator likely did this?
Opossum
If you are missing animals and some are left behind dead with bite marks on the back and rib cage with evidence of shaking and tearing apart, what type of predator likely killed your bird?
Canines
You find portions of birds around the scene and heads and necks are crushed. What likely killed your bird?
Feline
Several birds are missing and dead. The breast and crops are torn and some of the intestines are eaten. There are no eggs to be found and there are feathers and skin between slats of the fence. What animal likely did this?
Raccoon
There was a massacre of your birds overnight. Their jugular veins appear to have been bitten and there is very little blood on the ground. What animal likely did this?
Vampire…..
or Bunnicula….
or
Weasel
Eggs are opened on one end and the shells remain around the nest boxes. 2 adult birds are dead with bite marks all over them and animal parts are strewn about. The barn also kind of smells bad…. What animal is the murderer?
Skunk!
You had adorable chicks in your coop and now they are found dead and missing. The remaining chicks were eaten around their vent. Who is the culprit?
Rats
You are missing a few birds but you have a few heads left in the enclosure. What animal likely killed them?
Owl
