Mycoplasma gallisepticum Infection in Chukar Partridges, Pheasants, and Peafowl

Abstract

Mycoplasma gallisepticum infection was diagnosed in a group of chukar partridges, pheasants, and peafowl based on serology and isolation techniques. The farm also had quail, chickens, and ducks. Clinical signs in growing birds consisted of foamy eyes, swollen infraorbital sinuses, respiratory distress, and death. Breeding birds experienced a severe drop in egg production. Histologically, the growing birds exhibited lymphoplasmacytic inflammation of the conjunctiva, sinus, and trachea. The most likely source of infection was either chickens, which had been introduced before the onset of clinical signs, or the chukar partridge breeders, which had been obtained at various hunting field trials.

Mycoplasmas and respiratory disease in pheasants and partridges

“…Findings that implicate mycoplasmas in respiratory disease of game birds range from early investigations by Keymer (1961), in which a "pathogenic type" of mycoplasma was recovered in eggs, to more recent investigations of natural cases of infectious sinusitis in which M. gallisepticu m was recovered in laboratory culture medium (Poveda et al, 1986;Reece et al, 1986;Cookson & Shivaprasad, 1994). Our study appears to confirm the involvement of M. gallisepticu m in some incidents of upper respiratory disease in game birds.…”

“…Upper respiratory disease has been noted in pheasants and partridges in the UK and the US for many years (Gianforte et al, 1955;Wichmann, 1957;Keymer, 1958Keymer, , 1961Osborn & Pomeroy, 1958;Cookson & Shivaprasad, 1994;McMartin et al, 1996) and it has also been reported in Australia (Reece et al, 1986). The condition usually presents as conjunctivitis and sinusitis, sometimes with severe bilateral swellings of the infraorbital sinuses.…”

“…Early serological evidence and more recent cultural findings (Cookson & Shivaprasad, 1994;McMartin et al, 1996) have suggested that Mycoplasma gallisepticu m is one possible cause of this condition. McMartin et al (1996) in the US and Ganapathy & Bradbury (1998) in the UK have reproduced the clinical disease experimentally in chukar and red-legged partridges, respectively, with M. gallisepticu m as the sole infecting agent.…”

Diagnóstico imuno-histoquímico e caracterização anatomopatológica de Mycoplasma gallisepticum em galinhas de subsistência

“…O quadro clínico-patológico observado nesses dois surtos foi semelhante a outros relatos de infecção experimental e espontânea por MG em galiformes (Cookson & Shivaprasad 1994, Nunoya et al 1995, Radi et al 2000, Ley 2008, Vitula et al 2011. A lesão causada por MG ocorre especialmente nos seios nasais, traqueia e sacos aéreos, embora os pulmões também possam estar envolvidos (Fletcher et al 2008).…”

“…A ausência de monitoria constante em sistemas de produção de aves com ciclo de vida curto como os frangos de corte, bem como poedeiras, aves de criação extensivas, selvagens e ornamentais, representa uma ameaça à sanidade avícola industrial, uma vez que esses animais podem servir como reservatório de micoplasmas, mantendo-os no meio ambiente (Cookson & Shivaprasad 1994, Nunoya et al 1995, Nunoya et al 1997, Minharro et al 2001, Buim et al 2009, Gomes et al 2010, Machado et al 2012.…”