There are many types of unpleasant diseases associated with farm animals and birds. One of these is pasteurellosis in chickens. It is an infectious disease that can occur in all breeds of poultry, including chickens. The pasteurellosis virus is of bacterial origin and can destroy an entire farm.
Pasteurellosis in chickens
Treatment of sick chickens is impractical, since they are living carriers of the disease until death. A vaccine made in time can save from such a pestilence. But first things first.
Pasteurellosis: how is it dangerous for poultry
Pasteurellosis of birds is a viral disease that has several forms and is usually fatal. Infection can affect chickens of any age, but most often epidemics break out among young animals.
Older birds are more resistant to this disease, they have a better chance of surviving pasteurellosis. However, these chickens remain carriers of the infection forever and cannot live with healthy individuals.
The causative agents of pasteurellosis in chickens
Pasteurellosis (cholera) of birds is manifested due to pasteurellas of P. Haemolytica and P. Multocida, which are in the form of ellipsoid rods. There is no arguing, the decomposition process is isolated. Bipolar color is inherent in smears from internal organs and blood.
The structure of P. Multocida is heterogeneous, so the vaccine is selected individually for the form of the disease. Pasteurella, the causative agent of bird pasteurellosis, can live long in frozen foods and dead animals.
Bacteria cannot survive under ultraviolet light, so walking areas must be well lit. Also, the habitats of chickens should be treated with a 5% solution of pheanol and suspension. For the same purpose, you can use a 1% solution of bleaching lime.
Methods of infection, symptoms and forms of pasteurellosis
There are several ways of infection with pasteurellosis bacilli among domestic birds:
- respiratory tract and nasal cavity after contact with an infected individual;
- broken skin;
- bacillus-infected food;
- blood-sucking insects.
After entering the body of chickens, the virus almost immediately begins to multiply in huge quantities. The bacilli spread to the site of infection, after which they attack the blood and lymph.
Throughout the disease, pasteurellosis produces aggression to better spread the infection. The incubation period usually takes several days. Tolerance depends on the vital signs of the bird and the form of the disease.
Hyperacute form of pasteurellosis
The chicken dies instantly without any symptoms of the disease. This is due to the high level of toxins in the body of the bird.
The appearance of an individual may be completely normal, but during the regression period, the feathered bird quickly withers.
Acute form of pasteurellosis
The most common form of the disease. The chicken shows apathy, it is inactive, with wings down. The temperature can rise to 40 ° C, from a lack of oxygen in the body, cyanosis manifests itself.
A yellow discharge appears from the nasal cavity. The chicken ceases to eat food and at the same time actively drinks water. The life span of the bird in this case is from 1 to 3 days.
Chronic form of pasteurellosis
If an individual has survived an acute form, the disease becomes chronic. That is, the disease will come back again and again.
The symptoms of this form are pronounced. The bird suffers from swollen joints of the legs and wings, the beard and comb affects necrosis.
The course of pasteurellosis in chickens in chronic form lasts up to 3 weeks and usually ends lethally. However, if the bird managed to get sick, it becomes a lifelong carrier of infection.
With pasteurellosis of birds, chickens are often exsanguinated. During an autopsy, the following disorders can be detected: muscle tissue acquires a bluish tint, internal organs suffer from hemorrhage, the lungs become inflamed, and foci of necrosis appear throughout the body. Treatment of these birds is impossible, therefore, patients with a chronic form are usually disposed of.
How to recognize pasteurellosis in chickens
In the early stages, the disease does not have pronounced symptoms and is determined using bacteriological analysis. Analyzes are carried out only in a veterinary clinic.
The corpses of chickens that have died from acute or hyperacute forms of pasteurellosis are tested in laboratories. A day after sowing blood from the body, a clear growth of the culture is visible.
A smear is taken from the liver, and at the microscopic level it is possible to see the stained bipolar, characteristic of the disease. For greater reliability, an experiment is carried out on laboratory animals, which confirms or refutes the disease.
Treatment methods
If the symptoms of infection of the bird with pasteurellosis are confirmed, then it is necessary to review the conditions of keeping and feeding the pets. Preventive treatment includes the use of symptomatic drugs.
Doctors in such cases prescribe hyperimmune polyvalent serum and tetracycline antibiotics:
- chlortetracycline extract;
- chloramphenicol;
- terramycin.
The latest developments in the fight against pasteurellosis in poultry are:
- trisulfone;
- suspension of cobactan;
- levoerythrocycline extract.
However, it should be remembered that a bird that has recovered remains forever a carrier of infection, so it is more rational to let it go to slaughter. After detecting a disease on the farm, a sick chicken should be instantly isolated, and pens and walking areas should be treated with a disinfection solution.
During an outbreak in the chicken coop, it is recommended to slaughter the entire bird, since infected individuals are not suitable for divorce.
If a disease is detected, antibacterial substances should be introduced into complementary foods for healthy birds:
- Chloramphenicol, 3 times a day;
- Tetracyclinum, Doxycyclin and Oxytetracyclinum, 1 time per knock;
- Norsulfazole, 2 times a day;
- Spectrum B;
- Aquaprim;
- Floron.
If you suspect pasteurellosis, you need to act immediately. If the diagnosis is confirmed, quarantine should be introduced and preventive measures should be tightened. This is the only way to save at least some of the birds.
Healthy individuals require mandatory vaccination. An inactivated sorbed Vaccine or "Aviac" in the form of an emulsion is suitable for this. the vaccine is dosed based on the age of the bird and will help protect the farm from an epidemic.
Chickens diseases and methods for controlling them
Preventive actions against poultry pasteurellosis
Preventive actions are mainly in compliance with sanitary and norms, detection of carriers and timely vaccinations. For this, a vaccine or drugs aimed at preventing salmonellosis and pasteurellosis will go. Before using any medication against this disease, it is important to consult a veterinarian. Chicken feed should contain vitamin supplements and feeding. Grass on the walks must be mowed, and the land is plowed.
If the disease has been detected, it is necessary to check all the birds, to separate the healthy from the sick, and thoroughly disinfect the enclosures, walks and equipment.
If pasteurellosis has broken out in the house and has affected most of the chickens, it is advisable to send the birds for slaughter. A strict quarantine is established, the export of eggs and chickens for sale is stopped. The quarantine is valid for a month from the date of death of the last chicken.
In the fight against pasteurellosis, you need to invest in prevention, since treatment of poultry is considered irrational. Prevention should be carried out constantly in order to have time to avoid the disease and the large losses associated with it.