PREVENTION AND CONTROL

OF POULTRY DISEASES
PCB, 2017

Bounty-
Made with1Animal
by Health Group
 PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF POULTRY DISEASES

• One of the most important factor for the profitability of poultry farming
business.
• Although a disease prevention program may not show immediate
returns on the investment, it will be profitable in the long term.

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 OUTLINE

• Threats to poultry farming

• Cost of diseases
• Recognizing healthy and diseased birds
• Disease Prevention
– Vaccination
– Parasite Control
– Identifying and treating sick birds
– Separating multi-age flocks
– Biosecurity measures
• Control of disease outbreak

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 Viruses

WHAT ARE
THE THREATS
TO POULTRY Mold
Bacteria and
FARM? Fungi

Protozoa
and
Parasites
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 DISEASE
• Any impairment of normal
physiological function affecting
all or part of an organism.
PATHOGEN
Any agent that can cause disease
• May be caused by:
– Infectious and parasitic agents
– Injury or physical stress with which
the bird cannot cope
– Vitamin deficiency
– Ingestion of toxic substance
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CLASSIFICATION OF
PATHOGENS

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 RESERVOIR OF DISEASE

In order to cause an Animate Inanimate

infection in animal,
diseases need to be • Other Domestic Animals • Water
introduced from a • Human • Soil
reservoir of infection • Poultry • Litter
where the disease • Wild Birds • Dust
causing organism • Wild Animals • Equipment
• Housing and Other
survives, and where it Structures
may also multiply
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 TRANSMISSION OF DISEASE

Vertical Transmission Horizontal Transmission

• Mother to Offspring • Direct
• Indirect
– Inanimate
– Vector/ Carrier/ Animate

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 COST OF DISEASES

• Poultry mortalities
• Low production performances
– Less eggs (less hatchability)
– Slow growth rate
– Poor FCR
– Poor product quality
• Financial losses to farmers due to:
– Mortalities, Medication, Low Performance and Decontamination
• Zoonosis
Resulting to human infection and death (eg. Salmonella infection, HPAI)

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 SIGNS OF HEALTHY AND DISEASED BIRD
• Posture
• Head
• Musculature
• Legs and Feet
• Feathers
• Pigmentation
• Appetite and Thirst
• Respiration
• Manure
Feature Normal Unhealthy
Posture Bird stands erect. Head and tail Head held close to body, tail and
elevated. possibly wings droop, neck twisted
with head held over back or
between legs.
Head Comb and wattles bright red in
colour. Face parts filled out. Eyes
Comb and wattles shrunken, pale or
blue in colour. Face parts shrunken.
bright and alert. Nostrils clean, free
of exudate.
Eyes dull, may be held only partly
open. Nostrils caked, crusted. Eyes
watery. Sinus area below eye
swollen or flutters with respiration.
Musculature When handled, bird has feeling of Loss of weight and strength. Muscle
weight, when struggling has power
in its movement.
at point of the keel and near crop
cavity shrunken, resulting in a thin
breast.
Legs and Feet Scale covering clean and waxy. Legs Dehydrated with prominent
filled out, joints are smooth and cool tendons. Joints enlarged, warm to
to the touch. the touch. Bottom of feet cracked,
crusted or discoloured. Scales
enlarged and crusty.
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Feathers Smooth, neat and clean. Feathers not preened. Feathers
fluffed out or broken. Staining in
areas of abdomen. Bird generally
SIGNS OF HEALTHY
Pigmentation
ruff looking.
Characteristic for breed and strain, period Reduced depth of colour. In adult
AND DISEASED
of production. hens an excess of yellow pigment
may result from disease reducing BIRD
rate of lay.
Appetite and Eat and drink frequently. Loss of appetite or excessive
Thirst drinking.

Respiration Absence of noise. Breathing through Gurgling, rattling, snickering

nostrils. Movement of abdominal wall noise; gasping; obvious
barely perceptible. When pen movement of abdominal wall.
temperature exceeds 85 degree F.
healthy adult poultry will breathe through
the open mouth. Young chicks will
demonstrate this at temperatures about
100 degree F.

Manure Gray, brown, white caps. Mass has Milky white, green, yellow, red.
definite form. Droppings firm, sticky, not Dropping very liquid or very
firm. Dropping passed from ceca may be sticky, not firm.
frothy. 12
 POSTURE

Source: Cobb

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HEAD

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LEGS AND FEET

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 FEATHERS

Source: Chicken Check In

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 RESPIRATION

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 FECES

Normal dropping

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 HOW TO KEEP DISEASES OUT?

Disease can enter your farm via carrier birds, people, wild birds, day-
old chickens, equipment, wind, pets and insects.

DISEASE PREVENTION
Preventive Measures:
1. Vaccination
2. Parasite control
3. Identifying and treating sick birds
4. Separating multi-age flocks
5. Practicing routine biosecurity procedures between flocks and staff working with
them.
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 VACCINATION/ IMMUNIZATION

Source: Pas Reform Source: Dr. Chris Morrow

• Can prevent many poultry diseases

• Vaccines aid in preventing disease by stimulating the bird’s immune system
in such a way that it enhances the immune response when the bird is
subsequently exposed to a pathogen (or disease-causing organism).

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 HANDLING OF VACCINES AND STORAGE

• As soon as possible place the vaccine into recommended storage

conditions.
• Remove the vaccines from storage immediately prior to their being used.
• Use recommended administration techniques.
• Always clean and sterilize the vaccinating equipment thoroughly after use.
• Always destroy unused mixed vaccines after the task has been completed.
• Do not vaccinate birds that are showing signs of disease or stress.

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 PARASITE CONTROL

• Regular bird inspection for external parasites

• Spraying or dusting birds with an approved insecticide in
the presence of lice and mites
• Cleaning sheds
• Regular checking of fecal material for any signs of worms
• Check label on dewormers for withholding periods as some
are not suitable for production birds
• Consult a veterinarian
B. Mullens, UC Riverside
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 REMOVE SICK BIRDS

• Regularly observe birds for any signs of ill health or problems within
the flock
• Remove sick chickens and other poultry from the main flock and
obtain a diagnosis from a qualified person.
• Keep birds under quarantine until completely recovered

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 SEPARATING MULTI-AGE FLOCKS

• There is an increased risk of disease transfer from the older birds to

the younger birds.
• Older birds often build resilience to diseases and disorders that
younger birds have not been exposed to.
• Practice ‘ All-in and All-out System’

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 BIOSECURITY

Security against biological agents (pathogens) and

specifically against infectious biological agents.

BIOSECURITY MEASURES INVOLVE:

• People • Vehicle • Equipment • Biostructures

Management Management Management

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 PEOPLE MANAGEMENT

• Proper Traffic and Handling of

Employee/ Visitors
• Hygiene Practices
– Showering
– Hand Washing
– Foot Dipping
• Disease Education

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 VEHICLE MANAGEMENT

• Types of Vehicles Going In and Out of the Farm

• Traffic Management
• Disinfection

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 EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT
• Mobile; carriers of disease agents
• Wash and disinfect equipment before and after use

• Signage
• Foot wear
• Scrub suit
• Handwash and Foot bath
• Feeders and Waterers
– Rodents should be kept out of feed because they may
introduce and spread salmonellae or other diseases
– Water lines should be cleaned and disinfected regularly
to avoid build up of potential pathogenic organisms

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 EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT

• Rat control
• Fly control
• Foot scrape
• Equipment storage

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 BIOSTRUCTURES

• Perimeter fence and walls

• Birdproofing
– Exclusion of free flying wild birds
• Entrances
– Must have a water faucet, boot brush, covered pan of disinfectant

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 BIOSTRUCTURES
• Ventilation
– Poultry buildings should not predispose birds to
stressful conditions such as excess dust,
insufficient ventilation with ammonia buildup,
excessive draft and, damp litter
• Floors and Cages
– All surfaces inside the building should be of
impervious material (such as concrete) to permit
thorough washing and disinfection. It is impossible
to sterilize a dirt floor!

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 BIOSTRUCTURES

• Utility room
• Feed storage
• Medicine and disinfectant
storage
• Litter material storage

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 BIOSTRUCTURES

• Mortality pit
• Canals and drainage
• Cooling pads
• Farm house peripheries

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 CONTROL OF DISEASE OUTBREAK

• SOP in Disease Outbreak

• Terminal Cleaning (Clean-out and

Disinfection)
– Disinfectant
– Clean-out and Disinfection Procedure

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 DISINFECTANTS

• Hypochlorites
• Phenolics
• Alcohols
• Aldehydes
• Quaternary Ammonium Compounds

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 CLEANING AND DISINFECTION PROCEDURES

• Planning
• Pest and External Parasite Control
• Dry Cleaning
• Cleaning of Water System
• Repairs and Maintenance
• Pre-washing Preparation
• First Washing (Water)
• Second Washing (Foaming Agent)
• Disinfection (Series)

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 Thank you for listening!

Questions?
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 REFERENCES

• Kumar, R et al. (2016). Prevention and control of poultry diseases. https://en.engormix.com/poultry-

industry/articles/prevention-control-poultry-diseases-t39559.htm. Accessed on 4 December 2017
• Mendoza, N. (2016). Prevention and control of diseases.
• Poultry Hub. (NA). Biosecurity and disease prevention. http://www.poultryhub.org/health/health-
management/disease-prevention-biosecurity/. Accessed on 4 December 2017
• Poultry Hub. (NA). Vaccination. http://www.poultryhub.org/health/health-
management/vaccination/. Accessed on 4 December 2017
• Segal, Y. (NA). Prevention and control of poultry diseases for better farm profitability.
https://www.slideshare.net/growelagrovet/prevention-control-of-diseases?qid=caa22f24-f46b-
4037-9e10-3c74138c1abd&v=&b=&from_search=2. Accessed on 4 December 2017
• Queensland Government. (2016). Poultry disease prevention and management.
https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/farms-fishing-
forestry/agriculture/livestock/poultry/diseases-health-management/maintaining-healthy-
flock/disease-prevention-management. Accessed on 4 December 2017