FOWL TYPHOID

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Causative Agent(s)

Salmonella Gallinarum

Clinical Presentation and Epidemiology

Chickens are most affected, but it also infects turkeys, game birds, guinea fowls, sparrows, parrots, canaries, and bullfinches.

The disease can be introduced into a flock by wild birds, mammals, and flies. Within a flock, fowl typhoid is spread by bird-to-bird contact as well as through cannibalism of infected carcasses, wound contamination, and faecal contamination of feed, water, and litter. In addition, the embryo could become infected before hatching when eggs come from a contaminated hatchery.

Clinical signs include dejection, ruffled feathers, inappetence, thirst, yellowish brown diarrhoea, reluctance to move.

Diagnostic Consideration

Isolation and Identification of Salmonella Gallinarum (direct plating on most media).

Management and Treatment

Various sulphonamides, tetracyclines and aminoglycosides have been found to be effective in reducing mortality. Trimethoprim-sulfadiazine (30mg/kg for 3-5 days PO), Tetracycline (50mg/kg for 3-5days PO), Gentamicin (3.5mg/kg for 3-5days PO), Enrofloxacin (12.5mg/kg for 3-5 days PO). However, no drug or combination of drugs has been found capable of eliminating

infection from a treated flock. There is the risk that treated birds could become carriers. Therefore, prevention of the disease is the most preferred approach including use of vaccines, probiotics (Lactobacillus acidophilus, mannan oligosaccharide) safer management and biosecurity practices. Farmers should avoid sourcing day old chicks from infected hatcheries and ensure intensive rodent control on farms. Control is based on routine serologic testing of breeding stock to assure freedom from infection on breeder farms.