The relation between average duodenal mast cell count, duodenal mucosal mast cell numbers, duodenal connective tissue mast cell numbers, circulating basophil numbers, heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and lesion score were studied to gain an understanding of the events that may lead to intestinal lesion formation associated with hemorrhagic enteritis virus (HEV) infection. Changes in vascular permeability in the duodenum in birds inoculated with HEV were examined, using colloidal carbon and ferritin as vascular markers. Turkeys inoculated with HEV had significantly (P < 0.05) higher duodenal mast cell counts than did noninfected controls. Birds inoculated with HEV had significantly (P < 0.05) more mucosal mast cells than did phosphate-buffered saline solution-inoculated birds. Connective tissue mast cell and basophil numbers were unaffected by viral inoculation. Thermal stress did not have significant effect on lesion severity, but did increase number of birds that developed the characteristic intestinal lesions. The heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in HEV-inoculated birds, compared with phosphate-buffered saline solution-inoculated controls. Increase in vascular permeability was only detected in HEV-inoculated birds with intestinal lesions. Results indicate that mast cells, and the vasoactive mediators contained within mast cells, may be important in the early manifestation of HEV infection. They also provide a possible mechanism through which biochemical and physiologic changes characteristic of HEV infection can occur.

An in vitro bioassay system was used to study the effects of cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) mycotoxin on cardiac muscle. Acute exposure to 6 microgram of CPA/ml of modified Krebs-Henseleit solution significantly (P < 0.05) decreased 5 in vitro turkey cardiac muscle performance criteria: maximal weight a muscle could lift; maximal contraction velocity; relaxation velocity; time to peak contraction; and total time for muscle contraction and relaxation. The effect on these 5 criteria appeared to result from intracellular changes partially associated with calcium availability and were irreversible, suggesting that physiologic changes had developed after acute exposure to CPA.

Oxytetracycline (OTC) pharmacokinetic values in plasma and bile were ascertained after IV administration of the drug. At 6 hours after administration of 1 mg of OTC/kg of body weight, 2.15% of the dose was found in the bile and 37.6% was found in the urine. At 2 hours after administration, the peak bile-to-plasma OTC concentration ratio was 60:1. Bioavailability of OTC was 47.6% when it was administered orally to fasted turkeys and was 9.4% when administered to fed turkeys.

The ability of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae to agglutinate RBC was evaluated to develop an in vitro cytadsorption assay. Using swine RBC in a microtitration hemagglutination test, no agglutination or partial agglutination was detected. Comparison of RBC from various other species indicated that improved hemagglutination was obtained with RBC from turkeys. This hemagglutination was detected only when mycoplasma cells used in the assay had been frozen and thawed, heated at 50 C for 30 minutes, or treated with trypsin. Treatment of RBC with trypsin or neuraminidase enhanced hemagglutination. Possible surface lectin activity in M hyopneumoniae was evaluated by use of carbohydrates in a blocking assay; hemagglutination was not inhibited by any of 13 carbohydrates evaluated. Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae convalescent porcine serum and monoclonal antibodies against 2 M hyopneumoniae immunogens of molecular weights of 64,000 and 41,000 inhibited hemagglutination.

Haemorrhagic enteritis virus (HEV) is a common turkey pathogen which suppresses the immune function. The immunosuppressive potential of both field and vaccine strains of HEV makes it necessary to seek substances which can limit or prevent this phenomenon. The aim of the presented work was to investigate the effect of two immunomodulators in the immune response of HEV-infected turkeys. The immunomodulators were synthetic methisoprinol and a natural preparation containing 34.2% β-glucans (β-1,3/1,6) and 12% mannan oligosaccharides (MOS).

Candida species are a natural component of the intestinal tract microflora, but in favourable conditions they can cause superficial, mucosal, or even systemic candidiasis. Poultry production might be a source of human drug-resistant yeast infections, including Candida spp. The limited data concerning the antifungal susceptibility of poultry Candida isolates prompted us to carry out research to determine the susceptibility of isolates from turkey intestinal tracts. The beak cavity, crop and cloaca were swabbed of 580 turkeys from 58 flocks in western Poland. The susceptibility tests were conducted using the E-test method with amphotericin B, fluconazole, itraconazole, and voriconazole on 52 isolates of C. albicans, C. catenulata, C. glabrata, C. palmioleophila, C. rugosa, C. krusei and C. lusitaniae. All isolates were susceptible to voriconazole. According to the MIC values obtained for amphotericin B and fluconazole, all Candida spp. isolates were classified as susceptible according to the described breakpoints except for C. krusei, which was the only isolate that was amphotericin B-, fluconazole- and itraconazole-resistant. The susceptibility to itraconazole varied: 11 of the Candida isolates were susceptible (21.1%), 29 were dose-dependently susceptible (55.8%), and 12 isolates were resistant (23.1%). There are few resistant strains of Candida in turkeys, and the drug resistance varies. When Candida passes from turkeys to humans, there is a wide range of antifungal treatment options.

Despite vaccination against avian metapneumoviruses (aMPV), cases of turkey rhinotracheitis (TRT) caused by aMPV field strains are frequently reported. Differences have been shown in the level of immune system stimulation after aMPV vaccination between turkeys that do and do not possess specific anti-aMPV maternally derived antibodies (MDA). The article describes the influence of MDA on the production of IFNγ in the spleen of aMPV-vaccinated turkeys.

Introduction: The study sought to characterise antimicrobial resistance among coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CNS) species recovered from broiler chickens and turkeys in Poland including the presence of 12 antimicrobial resistance genes and five classical genes of staphylococcal enterotoxins. Material and Methods: A panel of 11 antimicrobial disks evaluated the phenotypic sensitivity of the tested strains to antibiotics. Five multiplex PCR assays were performed using primer pairs for specific detection of antibiotic resistance genes and staphylococcal enterotoxin A to E genes. Results: Selected antimicrobial agent susceptibility testing revealed 100% of such in in vitro conditions to cefoxitin among strains of Staphylococcus sciuri and S. chromogenes. The blaZ (for ß-lactam) and mecA (for methicillin resistance) genes were in 58.3% and 27.5% of strains, respectively. Among genes resistant to tetracyclines, tetK was most frequent. Fewer (CNS) strains showed genes resistant to macrolides, lincosamides, and florfenicol/chloramphenicol. Multiplex PCR for classical enterotoxins (A-E) detected the see gene in two S. hominis strains, while the seb gene producing enterotoxin B was found in one strain of S. epidermidis. Conclusion: CNS strains of Staphylococcus isolated from poultry were either phenotypically or genotypically multidrug resistant. Testing for the presence of the five classical enterotoxin genes showed that CNS strains, as in the case of S. aureus strains, can be a source of food intoxications.

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are a large group of enveloped viruses with a single-strand RNA genome, which continuously circulate in mammals and birds and pose a threat to livestock, companion animals, and humans. CoVs harboured by avian species are classified to the genera gamma- and deltacoronaviruses. Within the gamma-CoVs the main representative is avian coronavirus, a taxonomic name which includes the highly contagious infectious bronchitis viruses (IBVs) in chickens and similar viruses infecting other domestic birds such as turkeys, guinea fowls, or quails. Additionally, IBVs have been detected in healthy wild birds, demonstrating that they may act as the vector between domestic and free-living birds. Moreover, CoVs other than IBVs, are identified in wild birds, which suggests that wild birds play a key role in the epidemiology of other gammaCoVs and deltaCoVs. Development of molecular techniques has significantly improved knowledge of the prevalence of CoVs in avian species. The methods adopted in monitoring studies of CoVs in different avian species are mainly based on detection of conservative regions within the viral replicase, nucleocapsid genes, and 3’UTR or 5’UTR. The purpose of this review is to summarise recent discoveries in the areas of epidemiology and diagnosis of CoVs in avian species and to understand the role of wild birds in the virus distribution.