Fungal diseases

Definition:  Fungal disease characterized by nervous signs in turkey poults, quail chicks and chicks at 1-5 weeks old is the high susceptible age causing outbreaks.

Clinical signs:

 Nervous signs: torticollis, incoordination, tremors, paralysis and death

Eye lesions and blindness also dyspnea may occur in rare cases.

P.M:

-Mycotic encephalitis

-Severe large, hardened, circumscribed cerebellar and cerebral lesion (necrosis is gray or yellow)

-Pulmonary granulomas are minimum

-Ocular lesion appear similar to aspergillosis

Diagnosis:

 as signs, lesions, demonstration of brownish conidia and large number of gaint cells from brain.

Differential diagnoses include:

- Infectious Bronchitis Virus (IBV)

- Newcastle Disease (NCD)

- mycobacteriosis

- colibacillosis

- other mycoses (e.g., ochroconosis, zygomycosis)

- oncogenic tumors (e.g., Marek’s Disease, Avian Leukosis)

- nutritional encephalomalacia (Vit A ,E def.)

- post vaccinal reaction leads to gasping.