Well,
here we are again, in the middle of breeding season.
The usual problems associated with breeding are surfacing
in numbers; the most prevalent being paratyphoid,
with an occasional "mimicker".
Paratyphoid,
or salmonella infection, tends to stay hidden until
the birds are stressed; and reproduction is the usual
stress which triggers the clinical infections.
There are other bacteria which can mimic salmonellosis,
mainly other Gram negative bactria, but they make
birds sick much less frequently than does salmonella.
Some
of the symptoms that might be seen include: sore joints,
swollen joints including wing boils, weight loss,
mucoid (sticky) feces, youngsters dying in the nest,
young dying in the shell, eggs beginning development
then dying early and turning black, "going light",
and sudden death.
Less commonly, we can see head tilting or twisted
necks due to brain abcesses, loss of color in one
or both irises, and blindness.
Often
the cases remain isolated or limited to very few individuals,
but it can progress to epidemics of varying severity.
Devastating epidemics are uncommon but have been seen;
more typically only a few birds are involved.
Treatment
consists of the use of certain antibiotics, preferably
one to which the particular strain of bacteria has
been shown to be susceptible to. When "shooting
from the hip", use antibiotics which have a high
degree of success such as Baytril, Saraflox, Cephalexin,
and Amoxicillin.
When the birds are not producing eggs or feeding young,
I like to use Baytril. If you must treat while they
are in reproduction, my drug of choice is Amoxicillin.
Treat for 10 days.
Treatment success can be improved when the birds are
vaccinated with SalBac while on the antibiotic. Caution:
don't vaccinate when the birds are setting eggs or
feeding young as they will neglect their duties because
of feeling so badly from the vaccine.
Yes, birds can be cured of paratyphoid but one is
never sure if this is the case after treatment. Removal
of infected birds has merit in controlling this disease,
but if the bird(s) is valuable it is worth trying
to salvage it with antibiotic therapy.
Some will remain as carriers but there are lots of
carriers out there anyhow, so overreacting is not
necessary.
Dr.
David E. Marx D.V.M.
