Mortality in a broiler chicken farm was investigated for identifying the cause of mortality

Background: Capillariasis, an important parasitic disease of birds is caused at least by seven different genera of trichurid nematodes with clinical outcome ranging from mild enteritis to high mortality. Objective: This study was aimed to investigate the causative agent involved in high mortality associated with severe enteric illness among turkey flocks in an organized commercial poultry farm at Bareilly, India. Materials and Methods: Turkey carcasses (n = 119) and fecal samples from the affected deep litter pen constituted as the study materials. The disease was investigated by systematic necropsy, direct microscopy and histopathology. Representative samples were screened for other enteric pathogens. Results: Microscopic examination of mucosal scraping revealed capillarid worms and their eggs in all the samples. The morphological features of adult worms were typically consistent to Baruscapillaria obsignata. Histopathology exhibited thickened muscular and mucosal layers, mononuclear and heterophilic infiltration in the lamina propria, blunting and clubbing of villi, epithelial denudation and sections of capillarid worms. Administration of levamisole at 80 ppm in drinking water reduced the mortality, clinical illness and worm load after three days of therapy. Conclusions: The capillarid worms in different avian hosts can cause different clinical manifestations and outcomes. From India, this is the first report describing intestinal pathology caused by B. obsignata in turkeys. We conclude that the B. obsignata infection is capable of causing life threatening enteropathy in turkeys and, hence, routine screening, scheduled deworming and good litter management are crucial to control the infection and its associated loss.

Aspergillus spp. are opportunistic pathogens which cause pulmonary aspergillosis in human, animals and birds that are immunocompromised. Seven emu chicks of different ages ranging from 2 weeks to 7 weeks were presented for postmortem examination and diagnosis. Necropsy revealed granulomatous pneumonia in all the chicks. Multiple granulomas of varying sizes (1–4 mm) were also seen in the serosa of proventriculus, gizzard and kidneys. Direct microscopic examination of 10% KOH treated, lactophenol cotton blue stained smears from crushed nodules showed segments of branching fungal hyphae and conidia characteristic of aspergillus. Tease mounts wet smear preparation from the culture revealed conidiophores and conidia characteristic for Aspergillus fumigatus. Histopathologically, multifocal granulomas were seen in the lungs with central area of necrosis, numerous giant cells, mononuclear infiltration and sparse hyphae in the periphery. The frequent reports on aspergillosis in different avian species require a special attention to undertake necessary prophylactic and therapeutic measures to minimize economic losses.

Infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) is one of the highly infectious and contagious diseases of chickens caused by Gallid Herpesvirus 1, a member of the genus Iltovirus. It is an economically important disease in major poultry producing countries, including India. Despite India having large population of poultry birds, very limited information is available on the disease magnitude and molecular epidemiology. We screened 560 tissue samples collected from necropsied cases of tracheitis and conjunctivitis to diagnose ILT by histopathology, immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction. Out of 560 samples, ILT was diagnosed in 90 (16.07%) cases by histopathology; however, polymerase chain reaction detected ILT virus (ILTV) in 128 (22.85%). Immu-nohistochemistry of representative PCR positive tissues (n=30) from trachea, lungs and conjunctiva detected viral antigen in the lining or denuded epithelial cells in 76.66% (23/30) cases. Analysis of age wise occurrence of ILT cases in our study revealed 47.65% in adult birds over 18 weeks of age, 35.15% in grower birds aged between 7 and18 weeks of age, 17.18% in chicks aged less than 6 weeks. Nucleotide sequence of gene encoding viral thymidine kinase revealed involvement of vaccine and virulent strains of ILTV in the investigated cases. Based on our findings and recent publications, we conclude that there is resurgence or re-emergence of ILT in the chicken flocks in different parts of India, indicating a possible biosecurity breach. Further genetic characterization of virus by whole genome sequencing technologies would decipher the genotype circulating in India, and help to design suitable native vaccine candidate(s).