Investigation of common microbial factors in spondylitis disease in broiler chickens

Abstract

Spondylitis is one of the diseases involving the spine, which causes losses to the poultry industry worldwide and causes lameness in the bird. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the common microbial factors in spondylitis disease of broiler chickens, which was done through the cultivation of necessary samples in a number of special culture environments. For this study, 40 samples from 10 meat farms were cultured in culture media including blood agar, mannitol salt agar, eosin methylene blue, McConkey, lecithin, TSA, Sabro dextrose agar, Brad Parker and Venotrint agar, which were cultured from parts with spinal lesions, and after incubation and examination of the results, about 80% of the cases with spondylitis were infected with staphylo Cocos aureus. About 30% of Escherichia coli infections and 5% fungal infections were present, while a number of cases had Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus infections at the same time, thus the cause of the disease was identified to a large extent in the province.

"Introduction and Research Plan"

1-1- Statement of the problem

Spondylitis [1] or back bending is characterized by kyphosis (hunchback) of the spinal vertebrae. This condition is caused by the downward rotation of the front end of the vertebra, failure at the joint level to keep the joint stable and similar changes in the adjacent vertebrae (1).

Clinical symptoms of this disease include the following:

1-Appearance shortening

2-Sitting on the knees by putting weight on the tail and standing up. Feet off the ground

3-Bending the back

4- Paralysis

5-Sleeping on the stomach

6-Putting the legs backwards

7-Putting the legs to the side

Due to the pressure that is applied to the spinal cord of the bird, as a result, it loses its motor power and becomes paralyzed and can no longer have good nutrition. On the other hand, due to the prevalence of this disease in meat poultry farms and the casualties it causes, it is of considerable importance to pay attention to this discussion. Considering that there is no cure for spondylitis in poultry and all the affected birds die, if this disease occurs in the poultry farm, there is no other option but to remove these birds. The best solution is prevention, and considering that the main effective factors in this disease are bacterial and fungal agents and sometimes farm management, identifying the type of bacteria or fungus can be the way to control and prevent it, and since no research has been done in this field in this province, therefore, in this study, the identification of infectious agents will be addressed. In a research they conducted in North Carolina in America, Entrococcus secorum bacteria was reported as one of the common factors in 30 to 40-day-old broiler chickens (7). Edgar and Rendon (2011) during a research in Australia through a comparison between chickens that were different in terms of incubation period, especially hatcher temperature, ventilation conditions, hatchery management. style="direction: rtl;">s and issues related to transportation to the farm had more favorable conditions than the other group of chickens that were in the research, they came to the conclusion that the mentioned cases are effective in the prevalence of leg out of joint or splay leg(27).

-Michael et al (2012) reported the cause of spondylitis in infected humans and said that this infection can also involve the eyes and lungs if it develops. In the same way, the bone response caused by the deformation of the vertebrae can reduce the flexibility of the spine and put pressure on the spinal cord (26).

- In a research conducted by Bergman and his colleagues at Utrecht University, the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus was mentioned as the common cause of spondylitis in 17- to 19-day-old broiler chickens.This research was conducted in beef cattle, and symptoms such as hunchback, pressure on the spinal cord caused by osteomyelitis [2] in the vertebral column, which caused paralysis of the beginning and end parts of the motor organ, were reported (12).

-Anthony and Garrett in (1997) during a research, Staphylococcus aureus bacteria as the main infectious agent in chronic osteomyelitis disease in Sheep reported (24).

- Connor et al. In Australia, the bacterial agents staph and enterococci were reported as the main infecting agents in osteomyelitis. This research was conducted in 52 sheep with chronic osteomyelitis, which had radiological symptoms, including the creation of new bone tissue in a large scale. Clusters of bacteria were also seen under the microscope, and granulation tissue was also observed around the lesion area (19).

-Balko in (2011) during A study in Australia identified microbial contamination in Tibial Dyschondroplasia as the cause of bone fractures caused by the inappropriate process of calcification in fast-growing meat breeds (10).

- In another study, Streptobacillus moniliformis[3] was reported as the cause of spondylitis in humans, four blood samples were taken from affected individuals and given to accurate fault finding systems, and after three days Incubation and gram staining of Gram-negative spindle and rod-shaped bacteria were determined (11).

-Griffiths et al., during a research in Australia in 1984, reported Staphylococcus aureus bacteria as an infectious agent in femoral head necrosis disease in poultry

(11).

-Joseph et al. in (2013) conducted a study on young miniature and small breed dogs that suffered from necrosis of femoral head and had symptoms such as lower limb atrophy, thigh muscle atrophy and pain when manipulating the area, investigated the bacterial cause of this disease and reported enterococci as the bacterial cause of this disease (21).

- Barry Traub et al. 2005) from the European Rosilin Institute, in a research on infectious agents involving bone in poultry, reported Staph aureus as one of the main bacterial agents affecting bone in poultry, and also pointed out that necrosis of the femoral head occurs mostly when bacteria are attached to the vessels of the metaphyseal wall and cause extensive thrombosis and necrosis of cartilage (32).

- In another research, the main cause Spondylitis was said to be unknown in humans, and it was speculated that genetics could be effective in its occurrence. Also, it was mentioned that the pain intensifies during times of inactivity, such as at night, so that it can cause the patient to wake up (22).

1-3-1-1- General objective

Investigation of common microbial agents in the spondylitis disease of broiler chickens.

1-3-1-2- Partial objective

Comparison of the amount of common infectious agents in the disease

1-3-2- Research hypotheses

- Bacterial factors are the main cause of spondylitis.

- Management factors are effective in the occurrence of the disease in the herd.

1-3-3- Research questions:

- Are bacterial factors the main cause of the occurrence Is it spondylitis?

-Are management and nutritional factors effective in the occurrence of spondylitis?

1-4- Research and research method

This study is conducted in the meat herds of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari provinces. The management of the farm will take samples from 10 meat farms with the age of 30 to 40 days from chickens that have paralysis of motor organs.