AVІAN PОX ОF BІRDS: DІSTRІBUTІОN, PATHОMОRPHОLОGY, THERAPEUTІC AND PREVENTІVE MEASURES

Abstract

Аvian pox is today a fairly widespread disease of poultry of viral etiology in most species of poultry. The causative factor of the disease has long been identified and described; it is a virus from the genus Avipoxvirus. The virus has a special structure of the genome, which contributes to its resistance to environmental conditions. The main methods of spread of this disease are direct contact between sick and healthy birds and numerous bites of mosquitoes and other insects. Experts also identify factors such as non-compliance with basic sanitary and hygienic standards for keeping poultry, since the virus can be in dry scabs from sick birds for up to a month.

Аvian pox is a stationary disease and has a certain frequency. There is a tendency to the beginning of the development of the disease in the spring, namely the beginning of May, the peak incidence is observed in June, a slight decrease in July and a new peak in the incidence in early September. The incidence of Аvian pox  is equally inherent in all age groups of birds. The symptomatology of the disease depends on the form of the disease: skin, diphtheria and mixed. The clinic of the skin form is characterized by numerous nodular lesions on the non-feathered parts of the bird's body (beak, eyelids, crest, earrings, distal parts of the paws). In the diphtheria form, the lesions look like small whitish nodules, which are located first in the oral cavity, and then spread to the larynx, trachea, and esophagus. In histological preparations from pigeons, we microscopically detected eosinophilic intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies in skin epithelial cells. Mature virions in cells had an ovoid shape. Their length varied approximately from 220-230 nm, and their width up to 110 nm. This inclusion is the Bollinger bodies. Only healthy chicks can be vaccinated from the first day of life with Vaxx: on Pox. Immunization of poultry is carried out by puncturing a section of the bird's wing membrane using an applicator with two needles. When using vaccines, the immune response in poultry is formed after 14 days and can persist throughout the entire productive period.