Physiopathology of avian respiratory diseases

Diseases of the respiratory tract are often complex, with anatomy, management, environment and nutrition all playing a role. Get all these factors right and respiratory disease can be brought under control. Dr P K Nighot, G N Kolte and G R Ghalsasi
ny respiratory disease has direct negative impacts on the commercial parameters, e.g. weight gain, egg production or liveability and thus causes considerable economic losses. Two main factors contribute to the severity of these diseases in chickens: the anatomy and physiology of the respiratory system and the complex nature of respiratory diseases.

Figure 1. A lymphoid follicle in bronchial wall. (H&E 25X)

Anatomical and physiological considerations

In chickens, the nasal cavity continues into the long trachea (windpipe), which divides before entering into the lungs. The comparatively long trachea offers pathogens easy access to an area where they can cause infections because of the high volume and low respiratory frequency. The intrapulmonary bronchi divide into secondary and tertiary bronchi, known as the parabronchi, where gaseous exchange takes place. During inspiration, the volume of the air sacs increases and the pressure inside the air sacs decreases and vice versa during expiration. The resulting complicated gas flow has some flaws. For example, during inspiration, some of the gas reaches the caudal air sacs without contact the parabronchial epithelium, meaning that contaminated air can reach the deep caudal air sacs. The other important feature of the avian lungs is cross current gas exchange system where the venous blood enters the gas exchange area at approximate right angles to the convective gas flow in parabronchial lumen. As a result, the partial pressure of oxygen in blood leaving this area exceeds that of oxygen in the air leaving the parabronchi. This is an efficient gas exchange system and it can help the bird

Figure 2. Trachea from a complex field case. Note the squamous metaplastic epithelium and debris in the lumen indicating the presence of bacterial colonies. (H&E 10X)

Figure 3. Acute aspergillosis. Note the presence of septed fungal hyphae within the lumen of necrotic bronchi. (H&E 40X)

to maintain oxygen pressure, even during limited ventilation. The presence of air sacs connected to parabronchi and occupying most of the inner body cavities is another crucial factor. A pathogen entering the nasal cavity can travel through both thorax and abdomen to close proximity with to the head of the femur bone.

Complex nature of respiratory diseases

Respiratory infections in poultry are often of viral, bacterial and fungal aetiology. Common examples are concurrent infections of Mycoplasma and E. coli, E. coli and Pasteurella or IBV and IBD. The combined effect of these infections is always more detrimental than a single infection. Moreover, managemental factors like ventilation, humidity, dusty environment or ammonia can have a great impact on the occurrence of respiratory diseases. Adverse vaccination reactions can occur on farms following the administration of live respiratory vaccines, with faulty vaccination procedures or a poor environment. The presence of prior infections particularly Mycoplasma or fungus can lead to adverse reaction following respiratory vaccines.

respiratory tract. The birds immune system responds through acute inflammation but if this is inadequate, it allows pathogens to enter the blood and circulate throughout the body. If this local inflammation causes only mild damage, the respiratory tract recovers in 7-10 days. In this respect, the trachea and bronchi have good repairing capacity followed by parabronchi, while lungs have poor healing capacity.

Respiratory immunity and immunosuppression

Other than the non-specific defence mechanism described earlier, the respiratory tract is lined with local lymphoid tissue through out its length (Figure 1). This protects the respiratory system by attempting to eliminate the pathogen, as well as invoking a general immune response. Along with locally secreted and circulating antibodies, immune system components like natural killer cells, interferons and macrophages take part in the immune response. Various immunosuppressive agents hamper the functioning of the immune mechanism, making the birds more susceptible to respiratory challenge. The list of immunosuppressive agents is long and includes IBDV, CAV, MDV, mycotoxins etc. In practice, most field cases of respiratory diseases are multifactorial, as shown in Figure 4. The flocks suffering from immunosuppression never attain optimum immunity in spite of vaccination against various diseases.

Battle between host and pathogen

Nature has provided the bird with some mechanisms against respiratory infections. Larger particles from air (more than a few microns in size) are deposited in the nasal cavity and upper respiratory tract while those less than one micron in size are distributed to the lower respiratory tract. Mostly, these particles become attached to the sticky mucus lining the respiratory tract and then moved back by reverse movements of brush border (cilia) of respiratory tract. However, viruses, some bacteria and fungal spores can directly enter deeper into the lower respiratory tract. Viruses like ND, IB and adenoviruses and ammonia cause malfunctioning of this brush border. Macrophages engulf the pathogens and kill them. Furthermore, the respiratory tract is coated with many substances like essential fatty acids that have a bactericidal effect. Studies have shown that bacteria adhere easily to virus-infected or damaged epithelial cells of the

Infectious causes of respiratory diseases

Infectious agents cause morphological and functional changes in the respiratory tract (Figure 2). The viral causes include IBV, ND, influenza, SHSpneumovirus, pox etc. The symptoms and gross lesions are very similar and laboratory help should be sought for correct diagnosis. The bacterial causes comprise MG, E. coli, Pasteurella, infectious coryza, ORT etc. The isolation of the causative agent(s) and antibiotic sensitivity tests will help to identify the pathogen and select the optimum treatment. In practice, expensive antimycoplasmal drugs are often prescribed without ascertaining the mycoplasma status of birds. Brooder pneumonia caused by

Figure 4. Multi-factorial nature of avian respiratory diseases

Environmental factors

Primary pathogen, e.g. IBV, MG, NDV

Immuno-suppressive agents, e.g. IBDV, CAV, MDV, mycotoxins Nutritional factors

Complicating factors, e.g. E. coli, Pasteurella

Avian respiratory diseases

Aspergillus spp. is a well-known example of fungal aetiology (Figure 3, page 24). Many of the above organisms are ubiquitous on poultry facilities. Effective vaccination is also available for many of these agents. Solid immunity against these diseases can only be achieved thorough correct vaccination programmes, biosecurity practices and by avoiding immunosuppressive factors. formaldehyde also have damaged respiratory epithelium. Dust in poultry houses consists of broken feather barbules, skin debris, feed particles and litter components, which cause irritation to the respiratory tract. Most of the dust in poultry houses is of size between 1 to 5 microns in diameter. Gram negative bacteria and NDV have been found with small dust particles. The endotoxins liberated by gram negative bacteria have also been detected in dust particles in poultry shed. In broiler houses, the litter should have a certain amount of moisture to avoid fluff and dust formation.

Environmental factors
The importance of environment cannot be overemphasised. The quality of the shed environment deteriorates every day of the birds life. During brooding, the temperature of the house should be maintained to avoid chilling or overheating. Rather than relying on thermometers, the behaviour of the chicks should be observed. There should be an exchange of air, even when houses are closed to conserve energy during cold weather. In closed houses, birds are exposed to various gases like hydrogen sulphide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide etc, while ammonia gas causes physical damage to the respiratory tract, which then becomes susceptible to infectious agents. Ammonia and dust particles in air have synergistic negative effect. Ammonia as low as 20ppm is sufficient to impair the respiratory tract after prolonged exposure. Formaldehyde gas also causes malfunctioning of the normal respiratory defence mechanism by altering the pH of the respiratory tract towards acidity. Chicks hatched from eggs exposed to

Managemental factors
Good brooding management with optimum temperature and ventilation will help to maintain the integrity of the respiratory system. An adequate rest period between flocks has been found to reduce respiratory diseases. Nipple drinkers appear to lead to a lower incidence of respiratory problems than open watering systems.

Nutrition and respiratory disease

Various dietary components play a role in the immune response of birds. Generally, a higher level of the nutrient is required to optimise the immune response than for growth, e.g. methionine, vitamins C and K. Imbalances of sodium and chloride can affect broiler immunity - high chloride levels may reduce immune response if sodium levels are not raised accordingly. Selenium and vitamin E are important for the protection and regeneration of tissues. As an integral part of biochemical substances involved in tissue healing, zinc is an essential nutrient. Vitamins A and C help to maintain epithelial integrity. The amino acid make-up of the protein source also influences the immune response. The protein analysis solely on nitrogen basis may not give correct idea about amino acid components, the balancing of which is essential to develop an optimum immune response. In conclusion, respiratory disease is precipitated when the natural defences and immunity of the bird is challenged by infectious or non-infectious causes, which mostly accompany one another. Intensive poultry farming puts additional pressure on the respiratory system, which therefore needs protection from pathogen agents. A comprehensive programme should be implemented accordingly to preserve and protect respiratory integrity. The unravelling knowledge of respiratory tract pathology will lead to better control of respiratory disease. P K Nighot, G N Kolte and G R Ghalsasi, Venkateshwara Hatcheries Ltd, Pune, India.

Practical tips to minimise respiratory disease provide adequate ventilation and oxygen supply
in hatcheries and setters, along with strict sanitary conditions maintain ideal environment throughout the growing period with respect to air quality, temperature and ventilation reduce the environmental temperature slowly and in phases towards the end of the brooding period observe effective biosecurity barriers supply well balance toxin-free feed limit the nutrient density in feed and the growth rate of birds during the starter period practice thorough cleaning and disinfection in poultry sheds and allow sufficient down period between successive flocks restrict the multiple age groups on single premises follow correct vaccination programme for important diseases and monitor for immune response