Brooder Pneumonia

1. Fungal Diseases
of Poultry

2. BROODER
PNEUMONIA
Aspergillosis, Mycotic pneumonia

3. DEFINITION
 An infectious disease
 Mainly of respiratory tract of birds
 Characterized by
 Acute miliary infection of the lungs in young birds
 Chronic air sac infection in adults
 Respiratory distress, central nervous dysfunction,
sleepiness, inappetance emaciation, conjunctivitis
and cloudy eyes can be seen

4. ETIOLOGY
 Many species of genus Aspergillus are involved
 Mainly Aspergillus fumigatus A. niger and A. flavus
 Family Moniliaceae
 Characteristics:
 Commonly occur in decaying vegetative matter, soil & feed
grains
 Grow readily on most common laboratory media
 Both major organisms lack a sexual stage.

5. ASPERGILLUS
This micrograph depicts the histologic features of aspergillus
including the presence of conidial heads

7. TRANSMISSION
 Moldy food or litter: Birds become infected
from inhaling spores
 Contaminated incubators & hatchers
 Egg shell contamination
 The disease is not contagious and does not
spread from one bird to another.

8. PREDISPOSING FACTORS
 High humidity & temperature favour growth of
fungus
 Young age
 Debility
 Bad/poor management

9. Epidemiology
Aspergillus fumigatus / Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger…
Overgrowth
Specific virulence factors ?
• Species
• Avian strains
• Individual susceptibility ?
• Age
• Sex
• Stress
• Other micro-organisms
• Toxicosis
• Therapeutics
captive environment
handling
migration…
mycotoxins ?
corticosteroids
turkeys, quails,
raptors, penguins,
parrots, waterfowl

10. CLINICAL SIGNS
 Serous exudation from nasal & ocular
mucosa
 Dyspnea, gasping & accelerated breathing
 Somnolence, inappetence, emaciation
 Dysphagia if oesophageal mucosa involved
 Torticollis, lack of equilibrium, tremors, ataxia
 Other respiratory diseases increase the
severity of acute aspergillosis

11. POST MORTEM LESIONS
 Small white caseous nodules (approx. 1 mm
diameter) scattered throughout lung tissue
 Caseous plaques on thickened air sacs that become
larger & numerous in advanced cases
 Visible greenish gray mold growth may also be
observed on air sacs due to sporulation of organism.
 Yellowish-green or whitish, caseous (cheesy)
nodules and/or green, fur-like down in mouth,
palate, trachea, syrinx, viscera, brain and eyes

12. Clinical signs and lesions
air sacculitis
Aspergillosis
of eggs

13. Clinical signs and lesions
pneumonia
meningo-
encephalitis
arthritis
uveitis

14. Dyspnea, gasping & accelerated breathing

15. POST MORTEM LESIONS
lungs, showing large
and extensive caseous
nodules.

16. Studded (granular )appearance

20. Lungs, showing large and
extensive caseous nodules

21. POST MORTEM LESIONS
Caseous nodules in the
air sac.

22. POST MORTEM LESIONS
Multiple nodules in
the liver

28. DIAGNOSIS
 Necropsy findings
 Isolation & identification of organism
 Sample sites: Caseous nodule in lung or air sac
 Isolation of culture in 48 hours on Sabouraud dextrose
agar is diagnostic
 Direct microscopy:
Small portion of nodule is teased in 20% KOH on a slide
& is covered with cover slip. (hyphae, mycelia,
conidophores)
Stain colony with lactophenol cotton blue to see
conidophores
 Serologic tests are of limited use
 Monitoring of hatchery, feed, litter & premises to find out
source of infection

29. Sabouraud dextrose agar

31. Hyphae of Aspergillus
fumigatus

32. DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS
 Pullorum disease: Lesions of brooder
pneumonia are confined to respiratory
system while pullorum disease lesions occur
also in abdominal organs
 CRD, ND & IB: Gasping & breathing is
rapid in brooder pneumonia but no
respiratory sounds.
 MD & LL: In Aspergillosis nodules in the
lungs and fungal fur-like down in the air sacs
are diagnostic, which is not seen in MD & LL

33. IN CASE OF OUTBREAK
 It is usually an infection of individual birds
rather than a flock problem
 Sacrifice the affected birds
 Spray pens with 1% CuSo4 solution
 1: 12000 aqueous solution of CuSO4 in
drinking water.

34. CONTROL
 Hatchery sanitation:
Regular fumigation of eggs
An aerosol of thiabenidazole or Clinafarm® pellets can be
placed in the hatchery to kill fungus
Formalin fumigation is an effective method to kill Aspergillus in
the environment
 Feed & litter should be kept dry.
 Access to moldy litter & feed should be avoided.
 Daily cleaning & disinfection of feed and water utensils.
 Proper ventilation
 Overcrowding should be avoided.
 Chlorine, and/or copper sulphate can be added to the water to
help reduce the spread of the organism

35. Treatment
No treatment !
Turkeys, chickens, quails, ducks, ostriches…

36. Thrush / candidiasis/ crop mycosis/
moniliasis
 Also called moniliasis / crop mycosis
 Candida albicans
 Disease of upper GIT tract.
 Characterized by whitish thickened areas of the
crop and proventriculus, erosions in the gizzard.
 Crop is thickened by a soft ,yellow white irregular
false (pseudo) membrane (curd like appearance )
 Mouth & esophagus show ulcer like patches.
 Nystatin / Gentian violet drops

37. Curd like appearance

38. 22-Candidiasis

39. Favus (chicken
ringworm)