Avian Encephalomyelitis (AE) of Poultry Flashcards
1
Q
What is the cause of AE?
A
Viral disease
-picornavirus that is enterotropic and is spread in feces
2
Q
How is AE transmitted?
A
- Fecal-oral transmission usually
- egg transmission
- human traffic/contaminated equipment
- affected birds usually come from breeders that had not been vaccinated
3
Q
When do you see clinical signs?
A
- Usually when chicks are 1-2 weeks of age
- once birds are over 8 weeks old if they become exposed they rarely develop clinical signs
4
Q
What are the clinical signs?
A
- first dullness followed by ataxia, leads to reluctance to move
- fine tremors of the head and neck
- not moving leads to being trampled, dehydration, starvation
5
Q
What ar the lesions of AE?
A
No visible gross lesions usually. Sometimes pale foci in the gizzard
6
Q
How is AE diagnosed?
A
- tentative diagnosis is made from CS, flock history, breeder source
- onfirmation is based on serology, histopath of brain, or virus isolation + ID
7
Q
What is the treatment?
A
No effective treatment in chicks
Cull the severely affected chicks
8
Q
Prevention of AE
A
Vaccination!
- usually done to prevent eg prodution drops and protect progeny though maternal antibody
- should be vaccinated 4 weeks before onset of egg production
- either in drinking water or by wing web stick
