Outbreak of Brooder Pneumonia in Broiler Chicks

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Indian Vet. J., July 2014, 91 (07) : 80 - 81
Outbreak of Brooder Pneumonia in Broiler Chicks
Avijit Dey1 and P.S. De
Regional Research Sub-station and Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Ratua, Malda- 732 205, India
(Received : 27-07-2013;
Accepted : 07-10-2013)
Abstract
Materials and Methods
An outbreak of brooder pneumonia was investigated in broiler chicks (n= 728) in five poultry
firms maintained by unemployed rural youths
of Manikchak block of Malda district of West
Bengal. The chicks of 7-10 days old were affected.
The morbidity (65 per cent) and mortality (46
per cent) were very high due to acute nature of
the disease. Since there is no specific treatment,
some managemental strategies were followed to
control the disease.
An outbreak of Brooder pneumonia was investigated in broiler chicks (n= 728) in five poultry
firms maintained by unemployed rural youths
of Manikchak block of Malda district of West
Bengal during June- July, 2010. The chicks of
7-10 days old were affected with the disease. The
affected chicks were observed to exhibit severe
difficulty in breathing by gasping, inappetance
and increased thirst. Around 65 per cent morbidity was observed in the affected firms.
Key words: Brooder pneumonia, Broiler chicks,
Outbreak, West Bengal
Results and Discussion
Brooder pneumonia or Aspergillosis is a disease,
usually of respiratory system affecting all
kinds of birds viz. chickens, turkeys, ducklings,
pigeons. It is observed in two forms; acute
outbreaks with high morbidity and mortality in
young birds, and a chronic condition affecting
adult birds. In broilers the disease some times
occurs in endemic form and results a considerable loss in production. This study reports an
outbreak of brooder pneumonia in broiler chicks
in Malda district of West Bengal.
Fig.1 Yellowish cheesy plaques in the lung and air sacs of the
birds affected with Brooder pneumonia
1
The disease was characterized by the history of
feeding moldy feeds to the chicks. The affected
chicks were found to become thirsty with
inappetance. The birds were often observed
unthrifty with drooping wings. There was
severe difficulty in breathing with sudden
death of previously healthy birds. Post mortem
examination of birds revealed yellowish cheesy
plaques on the surface of lungs and air sacs
(Fig.1). In some cases, dark red, firm lung
peppered with pinhead sized (1-2 mm diameter)
Fig. 2 Dark red colour of lungs of a bird covered with ‘bread
mold’ fungal mat
Corresponding author : Email : avijitcirb@gmail.com
The Indian Veterinary Journal (July, 2014)
Avijit Dey and P.S. De
yellow nodules or bread mold fungal mat (Fig.2)
were also found. The characteristic gross lesions,
symptoms and history of feeding moldy feeds
to the chicks diagnosed the disease as brooder
pneumonia. Similar type of observations was
reported by several workers (Powel et al., 1994;
Wobeser, 1997) and described the disease as
aspergillosis. Wet feeds and litters facilitate the
growth of the fungus Aspergillus sp. Inhalation
of large numbers of spores of the fungus as well
as reduced resistance of chicks result in infection.
As the disease was very acute, the
morbidity (65 per cent) and mortality (46 per
cent) was very high. Since there is no specific
treatment, some managemental strategies were
followed to control the disease. The contaminated feeds were discarded and the dirty litters
were replaced with fresh litters. All the utensils
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were cleaned with disinfectants. Fresh clean
drinking water was provided to the birds. The
control measures reduced the mortality within
five days. The premises were fumigated with
formaldehyde before housing the new flock.
Acknowledgement
The first author is thankful to Indian Council of
Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Uttar Banga
Krishi Viswavidyalaya (UBKV) for providing
necessary facilities for this study.
References
Powell, K.A., Renwick, A. and Peberdy, J.F. (1994). The genus
Aspergillus from taxonomy and genetics to industrial application. Plenum Press, New York, N.Y., p. 380.
Wobeser, G.A. (1997). Aspergillosis. In: Diseases of wild
waterfowl (2nd ed). Plenum Press, New York, N.Y., p. 95–101.
Indian Vet. J., July 2014, 91 (07) : 81 - 82
Effective Eradication of Syphacia Muris Infection in Rat (Ratus Norvegicus) Breeding
Colony by Oral Ivermectin Therapy
M. Thangapandiyan1 and S.P. Preetha
Department of Veterinary Pathology, Madras Veterinary College, Chennai-600007.
(Received : 18-05-2013;
Abstract
The present study was designed to eradicate
the Syphacia muris infection in a rat breeding
colony using oral Ivermectin therapy. Syphacia muris infection was confirmed by anal
cellophane tape test. Rats were given 25mg of
Ivermectin diluted in 1 liter of drinking water to
meet the dose of 2.5gm/kg body weight per day.
All the rats received four courses of Ivermectin
which alternated with drinking water every five
days. During treatment and for 3 months afterwards, perianal tape impressions were collected
and evaluated. All examinations subsequent to
1
Corresponding author : Email : sugigold@gmail.com
Accepted : 16-11-2013)
completion of treatment have proved negative
for further parasite.
Key words: Syphacia muris, ivermectin,
perianal tape
Syphacia muris (commonly referred to as
a pinworm) is a nematode which may inhabit
the caecum and colon of the laboratory rat (Dix
et al., 2004) and are still found in many modern
laboratory animal facilities. Although usually
nonpathogenic in immunocompetent rodents,
pinworm infections may have untoward effects
on behavior, growth, intestinal physiology, and
immunology. Various diagnostic techniques for
The Indian Veterinary Journal (July, 2014)