Poultry Bacterial Diseases Flashcards
Name the 4 types of salmonella diseases in poultry
Pullorum disease
Typhoid
Arizonosis
Paratyphoid
You necropsy a chicken with a white pasted vent, yellow crumbly material in the intestines, white masses on heart, spleen, ventriculus and intestines with swollen joints and orange triangular ova/yolks. What is your top differential?
Pullorum disease
S. pullorum serogroup D
Vertical transmission
If a flock is showing decreased hatchability and the young birds have diarrhea, are sick, chirping, reluctant to move before death, what do you suspect?
Pullorum disease
S. pullorum serogroup D
Clinical signs begin 5-10 days post-hatching
peak 100% mortality 2-3 wks old
What does the National Poultry Improvement Plan focus on?
Control egg transmitted diseases of poultry
Surveillence programs for Pullorum, Typhoid, mycoplasma (gallisepticum, synoviae, meleagridis), Salmonella Enteritidis (SE), Low Path H5 and H7 avian influenza viruses
What is the other name for Fowl Typhoid? Describe the etiology
aka Bronze Liver Disease
Salmonella gallinarum Serogroup D
What are the signs of Fowl Typhoid
Looks like pullorum disease in young poultry (diarrhea, sick, chirping, dead)
Adult birds have large bile stained liver (bronze)
Describe Arizonosis
aka Arizona infection or Paracolon infection
Salmonella arizonae
Primarily infects turkeys, can also get chickens and humans
Describe the signs of Arizonosis
Same for pullorum disease, +/- twisted necks / blindness. May also see enlarged swollen eyes
What should you treat Arizonosis with?
Gentamicin, tetracyclines, sulfas
What is an important control practice to prevent paratyphoid infection in poultry>
Rodent control!! Flies too! Antibiotics injected at hatchery possible too
What is the etiology of paratyphoid infection
Salmonella typhimurium from serogroup B
What is an important zoonotic infection humans can catch from poultry products, particularly eggs?
SE!
Salmonella enteritidis
Chickens often asymptomatic carriers
Is SE highly prevalent on eggs?
No! only 1/10,000 eggs have SE
1,000,000 SE bacteria per mouse fecal pellet
What is the causative agent of Avian Tuberculosis
Mycobacterium avium aka avian TB
Seen in all birds, common in backyard flocks
You receive a chicken from a backyard flock that is severely emaciated. On necropsy, it has white masses on all internal organs, particularly the intestines and the liver. On histopathology acid fast bacilli are found within the masses, which are granulomas. What is your likely diagnosis?
Avian tuberculosis
Mycobacterium avium
granulomas = tubercles
What disease looks very similar to Avian Tuberculosis?
Hjarre’s Disease! E coli strain
Shows serosal granulomas
Look at bone marrow!! Only TB will show granulomas in the bone marrow.
What disease is also known as Limberneck
Botulism
Clostridium botulinum type A or C
A farmer reports that his chickens are dying, they are limp and appear drowsy before death. The neck feathers are easily pulled out. On necropsy there are no gross signs. Maggots were found in the crop. What disease are you suspicious of?
Botulism
What two etiologies would exhibit bipolar staining?
Erysipelas (Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae) Fowl Cholera (Pasteurella multocida)
What age chickens are more susceptible to fowl cholera?
Adults more than young.
Mostly a chronic disease in chickens (vs. acute septicemia and rise in mortality in turkeys)
You have a flock of turkeys that have experienced a sudden increase in mortality. They have cyanotic heads with oral discharge and mucoid diarrhea. They also have swollen sinuses, wattles, eye sockets and ears. On necropsy, you observe and enlarged liver and spleen, hemorrhage on the heart, with fibrin in the lungs and fibrin and egg contents in the body cavity. A smear of the spleen shows gram negative bipolar staining. What is your top differential?
Fowl Cholera
Pasteurella multocida
How do you differentiate E. coli from Erysipelas and Fowl Cholera?
Fowl Cholera (P. multocida) = Gram neg with bipolar staining E. Coli = Gram neg with no bipolar staining Erysipelas = Gram positive with bipolar staining
You are presented with a chicken with swollen eye sockets and ears. What is your top differential?
Fowl Cholera. Pasteurella multocida
What is the drug of choice for treating Fowl Cholera?
Rofenaid (potentiated sulfa)
What is the best preventative measure for controlling Fowl Cholera
No cats or rodents in poultry houses! Don’t buy used poultry equipment
What is the etiology of gangrenous dermatitis?
aka necrotic dermatitis aka Blue wing aka Scabby Hip
Clostridium septicum type A or C
Staph and E. coli can be involved
What type of birds are at higher risk for developing gangrenous dermatitis?
Clostridium septicum type A or C
Immunosuppressed flocks via IBD, CIA, Aflatoxins and poor sanitation
You necropsy a chicken from a flock with increased mortality. The live birds are lame and have scattered patches of dark discolored skin. On necropsy there are gas bubble and red-tinged fluid under skin. There are white spots on the liver. What is your top differential?
Gangrenous dermatitis
Clostridium septicum type A or C
You are necropsying a bird that died after a bout of diarrhea. On necropsy you found yellow crumbly material covering the small intestine. What is your diagnosis?
Clostridial enteritis! aka Necrotic enteritis
Clostridium perfringens type A or C
You are necropsying a chicken from a flock whose birds are sick, emaciated with diarrhea before death. Grossly, you observe perforating ulcers of the small and large intestines as well as white pinpoint spots on the liver. What is your diagnosis?
Ulcerative Enteritis
Clostridium colinum
aka Quail’s Disease
How should a farmer treat for ulcerative or necrotic enteritis?
Bacitracin, penicillin, lincomycin or oxytet
Don’t forget coccisiostats!
Salt the litter if endemic
There is a flock that is not gaining weight as expected. You necropsy on of the chickens and find dark areas on the serosal surface of the duodenum. The gut appears black with fibrin in it. What is your diagnosis?
FDN : Focal Duodenal Necrosis
Likely etiology: Clostridium colinum
What would you use to treat focal duodenal necrosis?
Tylosin, tetracycline, osytetracycline
Why are Tylosin and Neomycin good for GI infections?
They are large macrolide molecules which do not absorb readily, therefor they concentrate in the gut.
You are called to a farm to investigate a sick flock of chickens. They are exhibiting respiratory signs, snicks and coughs, as well as eye and nasal discharge with swollen faces, wattles and infraorbital sinuses. You sacrifice one for necropsy and find yellow material in the infraorbital sinus. What is your top differential?
Infectious Coryza
Avibacterium (Hemophilus) paragallinarum
Gram neg, bipolar staining
What is the proper vaccination and treatment protocol for Infectious Coryza in chickens (avibacterium paragallinarum)
Vaccinate with homologous serotype
MUST KNOW SEROTYPE BEFORE CHOOSE VAX
Type A, B, C
Depopulate, clean up and disinfect between flocks
A flock of chickens is gasping and has had an increase in mortality. On necropsy, one bird had firm lungs full of fibrin and fibrinous airsacculitis. What disease are you suspicious of?
ORT
Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale - Gram neg
Closely related to Riemerella anatipestifer
What is the causative agent of Bumblefoot?
Staphylococcus aureus (Can also cause omphalitis, gangrenous dermatitis, septicemia, arthritis/synovitis/tenosynovitis, discospohdylitis, osteomyelitis, endocarditis etc etc) Can look like reovirus
What is the etiology for Kinkyback commonly found in broiler chickens
Enterococcus cecorum
Gram + cocci
A broiler farm has birds that are lame and sitting on their hocks. They are exhibiting paresis and 5%. On necropsy the bird has swollen vertebrae at the thoracolumbar joint and vertebral abscess. have died. What would you like to investigate in these birds?
Culture for Enterococcus infection
Discospondylitis with or without osteomyelitis
When you open a bird and find a peritonitis that is white and pastey, what is the most likely etiology?
E. coli!
Chlorinate the water!
What commonly causes watery, mucoid, bloody diarrhea in the southern US?
Campylobacter coli and C. jejuni
aka Vibrionic hepatitis
What is the etiology of New Duck Disease?
Riemerella (Pasteurella) anatipestifer (PA)
A flock of ducks presents as listless, has difficulty walking with a head tremor and opisthotonus before death. On necropsy you observe a polyserositis septicemia or fibrin in multiple body cavities and on organs. In a few birds there is a suppurative encephalitis. What disease are you most suspicious of?
Riemerella (Pasteurella) anatipestifer (PA)
The stifle can also be affected in chronic infections
Name the four types of Mycoplasma that we are concerned with in commercial poultry medicine
M. gallisepticum
M. synoviae
M. meleagridis
M. iowae
Turkeys affected by all.
Chickens affected by gallisepticum and synoviae only
What disease can spillover from house finches with conjunctivitis?
Mycoplasma gallisepticum “MG”
What disease can cause a decrease in layer hens, a chronic respiratory disease in broilers, and Infectious Sinusitis in turkeys?
MG!
Mycoplasma gallisepticum
What Mycoplasma disease causes lameness in broilers and turkeys, caused by swollen hocks and thin joint fluid?
Mycoplasma synoviae
think synovial fluid
What causes airsacculitis and bowing and twisting of metatarsal bones in young poults
Mycoplasma meleagridis
What do birds with Mycoplasma iowae present with?
Reduced hatchability and embryo mortality in turkeys
Name the three forms of ornithosis/psittacosis in birds
EB = Elementary body - infectious form RB = Reticulate body - EB expands to form RB. Metabolically active form IB = Intermediate body - matruation form to form EB
What is the etiology of ornithosis / psittacosis
Chlamydophila psittaci
Obligate intracellular gram neg bacteria
Serotypes A, B,C, D, E, and F
How do humans contract psittacosis?
Pet birds, processing infected turkeys or ducks or from pigeons
What serotype of psittacosis is commonly found in turkey
Serotype D. Toxigenic strain. Vascular damage
What would you be worried about in a pigeon with conjunctivitis?
Psittacosis / Ornithosis
Chlamydophila psittaci
What disease would you be concerned about in a pet bird with fibrinous polyserositis, epicarditis, pleuritis, perihepatitis with liver enlargement and airsacculitis
Psittacosis / Ornithosis
Chlamydophila psittaci
