Four hundred fifty day-old Hubbard broiler chicks were subdivided into 15 groups of 30 chicks each. Six groups of chicks received 0.5 ml of broth culture containing 5 x 10(6) colony-forming units (CFU) of Salmonella enteritidis (SE) phage types (PTs) 4, 8, and 23 by crop gavage. Similarly, six other groups received 0.5 ml containing 5 x 10(8) CFU of SE. One group was inoculated with 0.5 ml containing 5 x 10(6) CFU of Salmonella pullorum, and another group received 0.5 ml containing 5 x 10(8) CFU of S. pullorum. A group of 30 chicks were kept as uninoculated controls. Chicks were observed daily for clinical signs and mortality. All birds were weighed at 7, 14, and 21 days postinoculation 21 (DPI). Four chicks were randomly selected from each treatment group, euthanatized, and necropsied at 7 and 14 DPI. Gross lesions were recorded and selected tissues were collected for histopathology. The higher rates of illness and mortality were observed in chicks inoculated with 5 x 10(6) and 5 x 10(8) CFU of S. pullorum, followed by SE PT4 of human origin and SE PT4 of chicken origin. Moderate to high mortality was observed in chicks inoculated with the higher dose of SE isolates that belonged to PT8 and one SE of PT23. Variable mortality was evident in groups inoculated with the lower dose of salmonella. The most consistent gross and histopathologic changes, including fibrinous pericarditis and perihepatitis, were seen in the dead birds from various treatment groups. The lower mean body weights were present in all treatment groups compared with uninoculated controls. No illness or mortality was observed in uninoculated control groups.

Vitamin D metabolite levels and tibiotarsal histomorphometric characteristics were determined in 49-day-old male broilers. Valgus-varus bone deformity was present in 5.2% and tibial dyschondroplasia (TD) in 3% of these broilers, which were raised on floor litter under seemingly normal nutritional, space, and lighting conditions. No significant weight differences were observed between normal and lame broilers. The plasma levels of 25-OH-D were the same in lame and normal broilers. However, 1,25-(OH)2D plasma levels were reduced 28% in broilers with valgus-varus deformities but normal in broilers with TD. Anatomically, there were three different patterns of bone development in the undecalcified mid-diaphyseal sections. The pattern with the least periosteal growth, lowest tetracycline labeling, and smallest marrow cavity was most often seen in valgus-varus deformities. Patterns with greatest periosteal growth, high tetracycline labeling, and larger marrow cavities were more representative of normal broilers. It was hypothesized that defective prostaglandin metabolism reduced 1,25-(OH)2D levels, contributing to the overall reduction in bone formation and bone resorption observed in broilers with valgus-varus bone deformity.

No abstract

Ten strains of adenovirus representing 10 serotypes were administered intratracheally to 3-week-old specific-pathogen-free chickens, which also received 2.9 X 10(5) colony-forming units of a pathogenic Escherichia coli intranasally. One group was given only E. coli, and one was retained as an uninoculated control. Gross pathologic alterations post-mortem were minimal and limited to multiple scattered, pale areas in the lungs of an occasional chicken in various groups. Histopathologic changes in the lungs were those of multifocal, interstitial, and occasionally diffuse pneumonia. Moderate to marked interstitial pneumonia was incited by adenovirus strains 75-1A, B-3 A-2, C-2B, and X-11; Ind-C, Stein, Tipton, J-2, and T-8 caused similar but milder lesions. Strains 75-1A, A-2, C-2B, T-8, and X-11 incited moderate to marked multifocal pneumonia; Ind-C, Stein, Tipton, J-2, and B-3 caused mild multifocal pneumonia. In all groups, the pneumonic lesions were more severe 5 days postinoculation than 12 days postinoculation. Bronchiolitis and tracheitis lesions also varied in severity with serotype. A mild hepatitis was seen with serotypes T-8 and 75-1A. Neither the uninoculated control group nor the group inoculated with only E. coli exhibited gross or histopathologic alterations.

Ten strains of adenovirus representing 10 serotypes were administered intratracheally to 3-week-old specific-pathogen-free chickens, which also received 2.5 X 10(5) colony-forming units of a pathogenic Escherichia coli intranasally. Those birds had been inoculated by eye drop at 1 day of age with a virulent infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV). Controls consisted of groups of chickens inoculated with: (a) IBDV and E. coli, (b) IBDV only, (c) E. coli only, and (d) no virus or E. coli. Gross pulmonary alterations at 5 days postinoculation (PI) included congestion and consolidation of one or both lungs of a chick inoculated with adenovirus serotype Ind-C and another inoculated with A-2. Histopathologic alterations in the lungs were those of multifocal interstitial and occasionally diffuse pneumonia. All 10 adenovirus serotypes elicited multifocal or diffuse pneumonia and bronchiolitis in one or more of the five birds per group necropsied at 5 days PI. T-8 and A-2 serotypes induced marked to serve diffuse pneumonia within 5 days; Ind-C, Stein, Tipton, 75-1A, B-3, and X-11 incited a mild diffuse pneumonia. In all groups, the pneumonic lesions were more severe 5 days PI than 12 days PI. Tracheitis was incited by Ind-C, Stein, T-8, and A-2 at 5 days PI; the lesions were minimal to marked in severity. None of the four control groups exhibited gross or histopathologic alterations except the two IBDV-infected groups, which exhibited bursal change.