DMancutar Farming, Saturday. October 9.1993
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Agricultural & Biological Eneineering Agricultural ficonbmlcs
E. COU
INFECTIONS IN POULTRY
Dr. Patty Dunn
Aniqial Diagnostic Lab
Dept of Veterinary Science
Infectious diseases those
caused by invading organisms
such as bacteria, viruses, mold,
and parasites are often looked
for first when investigating a live
stock or poultry health problem.
However, infectious diseases
are but one of the many disease
categories affecting our domestic
food animal species. Diseases
caused by genetic abnormalities,
nutritional imbalances, and meta
bolic disbuifoances are examples
of other categories that alone or in
Administration
Appoints Director
SYRACUSE, N.Y.
James Bays took his
position as New York
state director of the Far
mers Home Adminis
tration recently.
Bays, a Smyrna, N.Y.
dairy farmer, ran the
farm with his father and
brother before taking up
his position as state
director.
“I have a great af
fection for and sensiti
vity to rural New York -
it’s my home, it’s my
business,” Bays said. “I
want to be a strong ad;
vocate for New York.”
A 1974 Cornell Uni
versity graduate with a
bachelor’s in animal
science, Bays has held
the positions of special
assistant to the state
commissioner of agri
culture and markets, re
gional organizational
director of the State
Farm Bureau, and as
sistant to the dean of the
College of Agriculture
and Life Sciences at
Cornell University,
where among his many
duties he held the posi-
combination have become in
creasingly important
Disease syndromes such as as
cites in broilers and caged layer
fatigue in commercial egg layers
can cause significant problems in
today’s high performing chickens.
In contrast certain infectious dis
eases such as Pullorum disease
and mycoplasmosis, which threat
ened to destroy the developing
poultry industry earlier in this cen
tury, are extremely rare in com
mercial birds in the U.S. today.
In general, our knowledge of in
fectious diseases and the agents
that cause them has increased
greatly, and control has improved.
However, there are still many dis-
tion of executive direc
tor of the New York
State 4-H Foundation,
Inc.
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case-causing microorganisms that
remain as formidable enemies to a
healthy poultry flock. In fact, the
number one direct killer of poultry
worldwide is a bacteria that most
of us have heard a lot about E.
Coli.
Most recently, E. Coli bacteria
have been in the news for causing
foodbome illness in people in the
northwestern U.S. Hamburger
contaminated with a particularly
virulent E. Coli strain was the
source of illness in this case. Cer
tain other strains of E. Coli cause
severe diarrheas in calves and pig
lets, and yet others cause mastitis
in dairy cows. Unfortunately, do
mestic poultry species also suc
cumb to severat different types of
disease conditions caused by E.
Coli infections. To follow is infor
mation relevant to the recognition
and prevention of E. Coli disease
in poultry.
Escherichia Coli is the full
genus and species name of this
gram-negative bacteria. It is a nor
mal inhabitant of the digestive
tracts of all mammals and domes
tic fowl. E. Coli is übiquitous in
the environment where it can per
sist for a long period of time.
Certain serotypes can be patho
genic in specific host species.
Most avian strains of E. Coli are
different from those strains that
cause disease problems in mam
mals.
Ingencral, E. Coli is considered
an “opportunist" or “secondary in
vader” when it causes disease in
chickens older than one week of
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age. This means that predisposing
factors are necessary to “open the
door” for an otherwise healthy
chicken with an intact immune
system to develop a serious E.
CoU infection.
Although differences in opinion
exist, many poultry disease spe
cialists think that E. Coli can be a
primary pathogen in turkeys,
meaning that the presence of a
virulent strain of E. Coli can cause
disease without any other predis
posing factors present However,
the E. Coli infection will be more
likely to develop and worsen in se
verity if one or more of these fac
tors are present
The predisposing factors to the
development of E. Coli infection,
also known as “colibacillosis,” are
many. Concurrent diseases and
environmental stresses, often re
lated to improper management
are common conditions that pro
mote the development of coliba
cillosis. In the chicken, common
viral respiratory diseases such as
Newcastle disease and infectious
bronchitis (including reactions to
live vaccines for these diseases)
can predispose to E. Coli infec
tion.
The normal host defenses of the
bird’s upper respiratory tract can
be impaired by these viruses, and
E. CoU bacteria may invade by the
respiratory route into the air sacs.
Immunosupressive conditions
such as infectious bursal disease
often lead to E. Coli infection.
Coccidiosis predisposes to coli
bacillosis by injuring the intestinal
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will and allowing the bacteria to
enter the bloodstream of the birds.
Similarly, in die turkey, respira
tory diseases such as bordetellos
is, aspergillosis, and Newcastle
disease, as well as intestinal and
immunosuppressive disease such
as hemorrhagic enteritis, are com
mon precursors to outbreaks of
colibacillosis.
Suboptimal environmental con
ditions are the most common pre
disposing factors for the disease.
These are conditions relating to
increased bacterial load in the en
vironment as well as increased
“stress’* on the bird to compete for
food, water, and space. Poor venti
lation resulting in increased am
monia and dust is the best exam
ple. Chilling, overcrowding, and
unsanitary conditions are frequent
contributors, as are contaminated
water and feed.
There are common disease syn
dromes associated with E. Coli in
fection: colisepticemia, egg peri
tonitis. and yolk sac infection/
omphalitis. Colisepticemia is most
commonly seen in chickens and
turkeys between 4 and 12 weeks
of age. Clinical signs include de
pression, decreased feed con
sumption. labored breathing,
. snicking, uneven growth, and con
demnations (air sacculitis). Post
mortem examination often reveals
a thick white to yellow exudate
covering the surfaces fo the air
sacs, heart, and liver. In very acute
cases, lesions may be limited to
whole carcass congestion with en-
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503 Cliff St.
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(717) 253-2410
CHIDESTER FARMS
RD 2, Bqx 75
Kingsley, PA 18826
(717) 269-4260
MELVIN G. MILLER
RT 2, Spring Mills, PA 16875
(814) 422-8279
PIKEVILLE
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RT 2, Oley, PA 19547
(215) 987-6277
BHM FARM EQUIP. INC.
RR 1, Annville, PA 17003
(717) 867-2211
SHOW EASE STALL CO.
573 Willow Rd.
Lancaster, PA 17601
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DEERFIELD AG &
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RD 2, Box 212
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HEFLIN SALES
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HESS' EQUIPMENT
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966-1996