BROODER

PNEUMONIA
Aspergillosis, Mycotic pneumonia
DEFINITION
⚫ An infectious disease
⚫ Mainly of respiratory tract of birds
⚫ Characterized by
⚫ Acute miliary infection of the lungs in young birds
⚫ Chronic air sac infection in adults
⚫ Respiratory distress, central nervous dysfunction,
sleepiness, inappetance emaciation, conjunctivitis
and cloudy eyes can be seen
ETIOLOGY

⚫ Many species of genus Aspergillus are involved

⚫ Mainly Aspergillus fumigatus A. niger and A. flavus
⚫ Family Moniliaceae
⚫ Characteristics:
⚫ Commonly occur in decaying vegetative matter, soil & feed
grains
⚫ Grow readily on most common laboratory media
⚫ Both major organisms lack a sexual stage
ASPERGILLUS

This micrograph depicts the histologic features of aspergillus

including the presence of conidial heads
HOST

⚫ Chicken & turkeys (more)

⚫ Geese, ducks, ostriches, pheasants, captive
& wild birds
HOST
Geese
HOST

Pheasants,
captive
&
wild birds
TRANSMISSION

⚫ Moldy food or litter: Birds become infected

from inhaling spores
⚫ Contaminated incubators & hatchers
⚫ Egg shell contamination lead to penetration
of organism through the shell
⚫ The disease is not contagious and does not
spread from one bird to another.
TRANSMISSION

Moldy food or litter: Birds become infected

from inhaling spores
TRANSMISSION

Contaminated
incubators
TRANSMISSION

Contaminated
hatcher
PREDISPOSING FACTORS

⚫ High humidity & temperature favour growth of

fungus
⚫ Young age
⚫ Debility
⚫ Bad/poor management
CLINICAL SIGNS

⚫ Serous exudation from nasal & ocular

mucosa
⚫ Dyspnea, gasping & accelerated breathing
⚫ Somnolence, inappetence, emaciation
⚫ Dysphagia if oesophageal mucosa involved
⚫ Torticollis, lack of equilibrium, tremors, ataxia
⚫ Other respiratory diseases increase the
severity of acute aspergillosis
Dyspnea, gasping & accelerated
breathing

Dyspnea, gasping and

breathing through the
beak.

(3 weeks old poult.)

POST MORTEM LESIONS

⚫ Small white caseous nodules (approx. 1 mm

diameter) scattered throughout lung tissue
⚫ Caseous plaques on thickened air sacs that become
larger & numerous in advanced cases
⚫ Visible greenish gray mold growth may also be
observed on air sacs due to sporulation of organism.
⚫ Yellowish-green or whitish, caseous (cheesy)
nodules and/or green, fur-like down in mouth,
palate, trachea, syrinx, viscera, brain and eyes
POST MORTEM LESIONS

lungs, showing large

and extensive
caseous nodules.
Acute aspergillosis or “brooder pneumonia” in a lung of a duckling.
Note dark red, “studded” (granular) appearance of lung.
Lungs, showing large and
extensive caseous nodules
POST MORTEM LESIONS

Caseous nodules in the

air sac.
POST MORTEM LESIONS

Multiple nodules in the

liver
Affected lungs & brain
DIAGNOSIS

⚫ Necropsy findings
⚫ Isolation & identification of organism
⚫ Sample sites: Caseous nodule in lung or air sac
⚫ Isolation of culture in 48 hours on Sabouraud dextrose
agar is diagnostic
⚫ Direct microscopy:
Small portion of nodule is teased in 20% KOH on a slide
& is covered with cover slip. (hyphae, mycelia,
conidophores)
Stain colony with lactophenol cotton blue to see
conidophores
⚫ Serologic tests are of limited use
⚫ Monitoring of hatchery, feed, litter & premises to find out
source of infection
Sabouraud dextrose agar
DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS
⚫ Pullorum disease: Lesions of brooder
pneumonia are confined to respiratory
system while pullorum disease lesions occur
also in abdominal organs
⚫ CRD, ND & IB: Gasping & breathing is
rapid in brooder pneumonia but no
respiratory sounds.
⚫ MD & LL: In Aspergillosis nodules in the
lungs and fungal fur-like down in the air sacs
are diagnostic, which is not seen in MD & LL
IN CASE OF OUTBREAK

⚫ It is usually an infection of individual birds

rather than a flock problem
⚫ Sacrifice the affected birds
⚫ Spray pens with 1% CuSo4 solution
CONTROL

⚫ Hatchery sanitation:
Regular fumigation of eggs, machines and air ducts and regular
(monthly) plating of hatchery with media to examine for the
presence of fungi
An aerosol of thiabenidazole or Clinafarm® pellets can be
placed in the hatchery to kill fungus
Formalin fumigation is an effective method to kill Aspergillus in
the environment
⚫ Feed & litter should be kept dry. Use clean dry litter and dry cups
of nipples to reduce water spills.
⚫ Access to moldy litter & feed should be avoided.
⚫ Daily cleaning & disinfection of feed and water utensils.
⚫ Proper ventilation
⚫ Overcrowding should be avoided.
⚫ Quaternary ammonium, chlorine, and/or copper sulphate can be
added to the water to help reduce the spread of the organism