Bacterial and Viral Diseases: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

September 16, 2021 · Updated November 5, 2023 · 2 min read

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If you want to know about Bacterial and Viral Diseases and their symptoms, diagnosis and treatment, visit Beauty of Birds and you can get all the information.

Index of Bird Diseases … Symptoms and Potential Causes … Bird Species and Diseases They are Most Susceptible to

Fungal Infections by Dr. Rob Marshall … Microbiology for the Aviculturist: Do your own cultures or gram stains – step-by-step instructions

Vinegar: A Natural Approach to Avian Management

Chicken Pox / Fowl Pox … Coryza … Epidemic Tremor … Fowl Cholera … Infectious Bronchitis … Lymphoid Leucosis … Marek’s Disease … Avian Influenza

(For more in-depth information on each of the above diseases, please go to the Bird Disease page)

CHICKEN POX OR FOWL POX (SOREHEAD)

CORYZA

A disease affecting chicken, pheasants, guinea fowl, turkeys and other game birds

Cause: Simple coryza, the common cold, is usually caused by improper management in which birds are subjected to undue exposure. Infectious coryza is caused by a specific microorganism and its severity is increased in birds subjected to resistance lowering factors.

Common Symptoms: Respiratory distress accompanied by watery and swollen eyes and poor condition.

Treatment: Simple coryza responds to correction of undue exposure. Antibiotics are beneficial. Infectious coryza sometimes responds to erthyromycin, streptomycin and sulfonamides, if treated early.

Control: Depopulation of farms and starting with clean chicks. Consider vaccination if exposure risk is high.

EPIDEMIC TREMOR

Cause: A virus.

Symptoms: A disease affecting chickens clinically under 6 weeks of age. Incoordination of gait, staggering, falling to one side, occasional tremors of the head. Excitement intensifies symptoms.

Treatment and Control: No treatment except isolation of affected birds. Vaccinate breeder flocks to provide immunity to chicks.

FOWL CHOLERA

INFECTIOUS BRONCHITIS

LYMPHOID LEUCOSIS

Cause: A virus of the leukosis-sarcoma complex. Occurs mainly in laying hens between 4 and 10 months or age.

Symptoms: Tumors in the bursa of Fabricius will spread to many other internal organs, especially the liver, spleen and kidney.

Treatment: None.

Control: Development of resistant strains of chickens by Poultry geneticists.

MAREK’S DISEASE

NEWCASTLE DISEASE

AVIAN INFLUENZA

Cause: A virus. Highly infectious, severity varies.

Symptoms: Sudden death is common. Clinical signs include sudden drop in egg production. depression, loss of appetite, blue combs and wattles, diarrhea, blood-tinged discharge from nostrils.

Treatment: None.

Control: Monitoring, strict quarantine and rapid destruction of all infected flocks. Poultry producers should practice strict management control.

\* From Diseases of Poultry, a paper by Dr. Gary D. Butcher, DVM, PhD., Poultry Veterinarian, College of Veterinary Medicine, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville. From publication PS-5, Florida Cooperative Extension Service.

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