The poultry industry suffers from various diseases or stresses. In poultry, apart from being antipyretic, acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) is widely used to cope with different issues including heat stress, and respiratory and digestive orders. This study evaluated the beneficial and toxic effects of ASA at different dose levels in broiler birds. To evaluate these toxic and beneficial effects it is necessary to examine the physical and serum biochemical parameters as well as the histopathological changes with tissue sections taken from broiler birds under experimental trial. This study was conducted on 60 one-day-old broiler chicks purchased from a local market in Faisalabad. Chicks were reared for the first 14 days under similar conditions. On the 15th day, birds were randomly divided into 4 groups (1-4) with 15 birds in each group. Group 4 was kept as control, while groups 1, 2, and 3 were treated with ASA at the dose of 300, 600, and 1200 mg/L of drinking water for 21 days. There were 3 samplings performed at 21, 28, and 35 days post-treatment. The live body weight and carcass weight were noted on each sampling. All the visceral organs were recorded for gross pathological changes. The serum samples were collected for biochemical evaluation. Histopathology of all the visceral organs was performed to observe the microscopic changes. A significant (P<0.05) increase in live body weight at a 300mg/L dose was noted after the first 2 samplings. A significant (P<0.05) increase in the relative organ weight was recorded at 1200 mg/L. The groups treated with ASA 600 and 1200 mg/L showed increased (P<0.05) AST, ALT, and creatinine levels from that of the control group. The group treated with 1200 mg/L of ASA showed increased (P<0.05) urea, serum total protein, and albumin level in all the samplings. Histopathological changes revealed swollen hepatocytes, increased sinusoidal spaces in the liver, congestion and abnormal glomerular spaces in the kidney, congestion and alveolar disruption in the lungs, and generation of villi and cellular degeneration in the intestine in a high-dose group. The study concluded that ASA at a low dose can be used for a long time in broilers and has a growth promontory role, while high-level doses cause hepatorenal toxicity.

Fowlpox virus (FPV) is one of the viruses affecting chickens worldwide, causing pathological and economic losses in the poultry industry. Viral lesions are easily recognizable by the eye and usually appear in the featherless areas, especially the head. Moreover, the virus could lead to blindness and mortality in some cases. This study diagnosed the suspected fowlpox cases, identified and classified the causative agent. We also analyzed the differences and similarities of closely related viruses at the neighboring and regional countries. Fifty samples were collected from three locations of Tikrit city from the domesticated chickens, which showed cutaneous lesions. Virus DNA was extracted directly from tissue samples before the nested PCR technique was performed. The virion core protein (P4b) gene is partially sequenced and analyzed with routine histological sectioning. Results showed that the virus causes pock lesions of dermal hyperplasia and hyperkeratosis. Hyperplasia and congestion of the chorioallantoic membrane were also recorded. The study also showed that the DNA of FPV could be extracted directly from animal tissue without further purification. The sequence analysis showed that the FPV was confirmed in all samples clustered in clade A identical with Iranian and Egyptian isolates. In conclusion, this study approved that the virus belongs to the classical dermal type of poxviruses and the short genetic distances between viruses related to closely neighboring countries. We also concluded that the conservative P4b gene included mutation sites that make this gene practical for diagnosing the virus and phylogenetic analysis.

Trichoblastoma is characterized as a benign cutaneous neoplasm that originates in the trichoblastic epithelium of the hair bulb. The present report describes the case of a 4-year-old cross breed neutered male cat that had a history of a slow, freely movable, ulcerated, slow growing, solitary cutaneous nodule located on the left scapular region. Histopathological evaluation showed neoplastic cells arranged in cohesive nests or palisades with eosinophilic and scant cytoplasm. Based on the microscopic findings, a diagnosis of trabecular trichoblastoma was made. The treatment of choice consisted of total surgical excision of the mass with safe surgical margins. Tumor recurrence was not observed.