FOWL POX

FOWL POX
 Also called Avian pox
(not to be confused with chicken pox in human; the
human disease does not affect poultry & vice versa)

DIFINITION
 Fowl pox is
 Contagious
 Slow spreading(2-3 weeks)
 Viral disease
 Characterized by:
 Eruptions on various parts of unfeathered skin
 Diphtheritic lesions in mucous membrane of upper
digestive and respiratory tracts
FOWL POX

ETIOLOGY

Fowl pox virus

Family Poxviridae
 Genus Avipox ( Turkey pox, Pigeon Pox,
Canary pox)

 Characteristics
• Double stranded DNA virus
• Brick shape
• Resistant outside the host, remains viable in dried scabs
for long periods
• Sensitive to heat, lipid, phenol & other
disinfectants
FOWL POX
FACTORS INCREASING
SUSCEPTIBILITY

• Chickens, Turkeys & Pigeons

are most susceptible
• Injury
• Birds with unfeathered skin
• Sex predisposition ---- male
• Age of the birds ---- (5-12
months)
FOWL POX

TRANSMISSION

 Horizontal
 Between flock
• Mechanical carriers (mosqitoes, ticks,
lice, mites)
 Within flock
• Cannibalism
• Direct contact

 Vertical
 May be egg transmitted
FOWL POX

PATHOGENESIS
Virus containing crusts are shed in litter

Virus enters through damaged skin & multiply in cytoplasm

of infected cells

Proliferation in the epithelium (skin) with Ballooning of

cells

Wart like yellow brown nodules develop & coalesce

to form cauliflower like mass

Round or oval cytoplasmic inclusion bodies

(Bollinger bodies)

Antibody appears in 10 days to 2 week

FOWL POX

CLINICAL SIGNS
 CUTANEOUS FORM (Dry Pox)
– Mild forms may remain unnoticed
– Generalized lesions on wattle, comb and unfeathered
parts of skin
 DIPHTHERITIC FORM (Wet Pox)
– White or opaque eruptions in mouth, nares, pharynx,
eosophagus, larynx & trachea
– Caseous white patches coalesce and expand rapidly and
become ulcerated
– Mucous membranes undergo extensive fibrino-necrotic
process and develop diphtheritic membrane
– Dyspnoea, gasping and suffocation due to caseous
material in the larynx. Death occurs due to suffocation
FOWL POX

CLINICAL SIGNS
 OCULO-NASAL FORM
– Swelling of eyes ( Conjunctivitis) and infra
orbital sinuses
 GENERAL SYMPTOMS
– Inappetence
– Loss of weight and weakness
– Reduced growth
– Show high temperature
– Depression
– Fertility is lowered
– Mortality is 1-2%
FOWL POX

POSTMORTEM LESIONS

 Cutaneous eruptions or wart like nodules on

unfeathered skin, also called vesicles or
pustules
 Small white nodules on the mucous membrane
of mouth, esophagus or upper respiratory tract
 Internal organs are usually normal
HISTOPATHOLOGY
 Eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusion bodies
called Bollinger bodies (2-3 )
 Hypertrophy & hyperplasia of mucous
producing cell
FOWL POX

DIAGNOSIS
 ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF VIRUS
– Collect sample from developing lesion, deep
into the epithelial tissues
 SEROLOGICAL IDENTIFICATION
– Florescent antibody technique (FAT)
– ELISA
– Haemagglutination test
– Virus neutrilization test
– Agar gel diffusion test
 DEMONSTRATION OF BOLLINGER BODIES
In tissue sections from affected parts
FOWL POX

DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS

• Avitaminosis A
• Pantothenic acid deficiency
• Infectious Laryngotracheitis
• Coryza
• Trichomoniasis
• Scaly leg mite
• Fungal diseases
FOWL POX

PREVENTION AND CONTROL

• No specific treatment
• Broad spectrum antibiotics for secondary
bacterial infection
• Alleviate environmental stress
• Try to control the mechanical vectors
• Dead birds must be buried or incinerated
• Cull sick birds
• Control cannibalism
• If endemic in the area, vaccination is
recommended. Don’t vaccinate unless
disease becomes a problem.
FOWL POX

ERUPTIONS ON COMB
FOWL POX

CUTANEOUS FORM
FOWL POX

CUTANEOUS FORM
FOWL POX

CUTANEOUS FORM
FOWL POX

CUTANEOUS FORM
FOWL POX

CUTANEOUS FORM
FOWL POX

CONJUNCTIVITIS
FOWL POX

SCAB FORMATION AROUND BEAK

FOWL POX

WET POX-CASEOUS WHITE PATCH

FOWL POX

Wet pox
FOWL POX

OCCULONASAL FORM IN TURKEY

POULT