Veterinary Services

Poultry

A six-month-old hybrid pullet was submitted from a unit where eight birds from a group of 50 had swollen eyes and were dull and listless. There had been two deaths in the group. On examination of the bird marked swelling of the left side of the face was noted and the eye on this side was totally closed. Serous and purulent discharges were noted from the left and right eyes respectively. Dissection of the facial swellings revealed a thick purulent discharge around the orbit and within the surrounding sinuses. Caseated purulent material extended from the nasal cavity down into the oral cavity from the left side. Further examination revealed mild congestion of the lungs. Culture of the infected sinuses and the ocular discharge isolated Pasteurella multocida. Mycoplasma isolation was carried out and M. gallisepticum was isolated from the purulent discharge seen around the orbit. The final diagnosis was mycoplasmosis due to M. gallisepticum, with secondary P. multocida infection.

Coccidiosis was confirmed in three, two-week-old Black Rock chicks submitted for postmortem examination. One hundred chicks were acquired at two days of age and the owner reported 10 percent morbidity and three percent mortality. Over-heating was suspected but postmortem examination revealed a haemorrhagic typhilitis and large numbers of coccidial oocysts were observed.

Waterfowl

A unit in Angus reported three to four deaths per day in a group of 240 ducks. The ducks would start to scour and then become progressively recumbent prior to death. Only females were affected. Postmortem examination of four ducks yielded broadly similar results. The only abnormality noted in each case was the presence of thick, orange/brown gelatinous material coating the intestines. Culture of the major organs and abdominal swabs isolated E. coli from all four ducks. Histopathology identified the orange/brown material as being yolk, and eosinophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies (IIBs) were identified within the hepatocytes of one of the birds. The IIBs were consistent with those seen in duck viral enteritis. Where one bird in a group is diagnosed with DVE it is a reasonable assumption that in-contact birds will also be affected. Furthermore, in some cases of DVE ruptured yolk may be found in the abdomen. A presumptive diagnosis of duck viral enteritis was made in the absence of viral isolation.

Gamebirds

Three adult pheasants were submitted for postmortem examination to monitor the causes of death in the breeding pens. One bird had typical lesions of pheasant coronavirus-associated nephritis, namely pale swollen kidneys and urates in the ureters and on the surface of the heart and liver. Marble spleen disease was confirmed in the second bird, and large numbers of gapeworms (Syngamus trachea) were found in the third bird. The latter bird also had a purulent airsacculitis suggestive of an earlier mycoplasma infection.

Racing pigeons

A young racing pigeon aged four weeks was euthanased because it was unable to walk. Approximately 15 out of 20 young birds were similarly affected and were unable to walk without using their wings. Problems had also occurred in adult birds, with several birds producing only a single egg instead of the normal clutch of two. Postmortem examination of the euthanased young bird found significant softening of the bones of the skull, sternum and legs suggestive of rickets. Rickets is more common in wild bird such as collared doves (Streptopelia decaocto), in which it has been linked to vitamin D deficiency due to inadequate exposure to UV light. The SAC postulated that the problem in the young racing pigeons reflected the calcium or vitamin D status of the adult birds, which had been housed to protect them from aerial predator attacks.

Large numbers of Trichomonas gallinae, the cause of "canker", were demonstrated in the oropharnyx and crop of a young racing pigeon aged 16 days, one of several birds that were not thriving.

Wild birds

Tissue analysis of a dead buzzard (Buteo buteo) confirmed carbofuran poisoning. The Scottish Agricultural Science Agency and the police wildlife crime unit are investigating the incident further. The carcase was submitted as part of the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme.

Heavy growths of a non-lactose-fermenting E. coli with the API profile typical of E. coli O86 were recovered from the tissues of a siskin (Carduelis spinus) found dead in good condition. This organism typically causes deaths in siskins and greenfinches (Carduelis chloris) in the months March to May.

The police wildlife crime unit submitted twelve shags (Phalacrocorax aristotelis). The birds had been found near to a beach in northeast Aberdeenshire but were well above the high water mark. Initially it was thought the birds had been shot but this was not confirmed on radiographic examination. Postmortem examination revealed that one or other of the legs had been severed at the tarsometatarsal joint. The SAC suggested that the birds had been caught in nets and subsequently discarded.