Smallpox affects many birds, and not only domestic ones - chickens, pigeons, turkeys, starlings, pheasants, canaries. This disease is caused by a dermatropic virus and is accompanied by characteristic eruptions or diphtheria lesions.

About what are symptoms of poultry pox, how to protect and treat smallpox in chickens- we suggest talking right now.

Smallpox in poultry: the cause is a virus

Causative agent poultry pox is a virus from the genus Avipoxvirus, subfamily Choropoxvirinae, family Pox viridae. Smallpox viruses are sensitive to high temperatures, ether and ethyl alcohol. In dead cells of the epithelium, the virus lives: at a temperature of 60 0 C - 3 hours, at 20 0 C - about 1 month, at 0 0 C - up to one and a half years, at -35 0 C - up to two years. Virus strains differ significantly in terms of the level of pathogenicity and degree of virulence.

Smallpox in poultry: methods of infection

The most sensitive to smallpox - turkeys, followed by chickens and pigeons. The source of infection is a sick bird. Infection occurs through direct contact of healthy animals with sick animals, as well as through objects contaminated with the secretions of sick birds, water, feed, etc. Ticks and insects can also be carriers smallpox virus of chickens, turkeys, pigeons and another bird.

The pathogen enters the bird's body through mucous membranes and damaged skin. The illness lasts about 6 weeks. Smallpox in poultry occurs regardless of the season, but most often occurs, and the most difficult proceeds, at the end of autumn. This is due to hypovitaminosis and metabolic disorders in poultry.

Smallpox in poultry: symptoms

Once on the mucous membrane or skin smallpox virus of turkeys, chickens and another bird begins to reproduce, forming smallpox foci of varying degrees of expressiveness. Through the primary centers, the virus enters the bloodstream and internal organs within a day. The smallpox process quickly spreads throughout the body, but most of all affects the epithelium of internal organs and mucous membranes, the epidermis of the skin. In the epithelium of internal organs, cell hyperplasia is observed, and Bollinger bodies appear in their plasma.

With smallpox in chickens, together with the smallpox process on the skin, there is an intense infiltration of the subcutaneous tissue by pseudo-eosinophilic and lymphoid cells. A diphtheroid process begins on the mucous membrane of the oral cavity, spreading to the nasal cavity, larynx and other areas of the skin. It can begin without skin lesions, on its own, but when the virus spreads throughout the body, it is usually secondary. Due to secondary lesions of the mucous membrane of the larynx, diphtheroid films appear in the bird, breathing and swallowing food are blocked. As a result, the chicken is depleted, its body is weakened, and if the larynx is blocked, the animal may die.

The incubation period depends on many factors - its virulence, mode of entry, age and condition of the bird. It is 4-8 days, less often - 10-15. Most often, poultry pox occurs in a subacute form, but sometimes it can take an acute or chronic form.

There are several types of poultry pox:

• Smallpox form, or skin form - the most common. With smallpox in a bird, warty formations, covered with a blood scab, appear on the parts of the body free from feathers - the comb, catkins, around the voice. The disease disappears in 5-6 weeks. The mortality of an adult bird with smallpox is 5-8%.

Smallpox in chickens

• Diphtheria form - smallpox virus infects the larynx ... The bird's breathing becomes difficult. As a rule, in late autumn, when other viral diseases poultry moved away, precisely because of the diphtheria form of smallpox. The bird stretches its neck, holds its beak open or often opens it, gives out whistling sounds, inhales the air heavily. Chickens and turkeys are difficult to eat. If the smallpox virus infects the nasal mucosa, rhinitis begins, accompanied by purulent yellow discharge... Drying up, they glue the nasal openings. Due to the defeat of the nasopharynx, pathological processes begin in the lacrimal canal and infraocular fossa, which are filled with purulent exudate. As a result, a swelling of a rather dense consistency forms under the eye, the bird's head becomes ugly. With diphtheroid eye damage, photophobia, tearing, redness and swelling of the eyelids first appear. A purulent-mucous exudate dries up along the edge of the eyes, which sticks the eyelids together. When both eyes are affected, the "owl's head" effect is observed.

Diphtheroid smallpox in poultry

• Mixed form - there are signs of both cutaneous and diphtheria smallpox ... Animals recover without complications after 4-6 weeks. Mortality in mixed and diphtheria forms of poultry smallpox is 30-50%.

• Atypical form of poultry pox , in which the eyes are affected, photophobia, lacrimation, edema and redness of the eyelids, exudate release, followed by souring of the eye begins. The bird becomes blind.

Poultry smallpox: pathological changes

With smallpox in a bird on the skin, hard nodules are noted, ranging in size from a grain of a lentil to a pea, with a raised central part. Small nodules have a shiny, smooth, light brown surface. Larger nodules are rough, covered with cracked brown scabs, similar to warts.

With diphtheroid bird pox in the oral cavity, along the palatine fissure, larynx and trachea, diphtheria films are formed. At first, they are thin, light gray, then thicken, as if they become cheesy, yellow-brown. These layers close the lumen of the larynx, nasal cavity, trachea, and sometimes even bronchi.

If the eyes are damaged by the smallpox virus of chickens, turkeys the infraorbital sinus is filled with mucopurulent exudate. Smallpox ulcers are sometimes found on the mucous membrane of the esophagus, intestines, under the cuticle of the stomach in the form of necrotic epithelium.

Smallpox in poultry: prevention and treatment

A bird with smallpox gains immunity for three years... There are special virus vaccines that are used to vaccinate chickens from seven weeks of age. Immunity is formed in the third week and lasts up to three months. When vaccinated at 3-4 months of age, immunity is enough for more than six months.

There are the following poultry pox vaccines (in parentheses - country of origin):

- "VGNKI" (Russia)

CT Diftosec (France)

TAD Pox vac (Germany)

Nobilis Ovo-Diphtherin (Holland)

FOWL Pox (Israel).

Vaccination against fowlpox is carried out individually for each animal at a dose of 0.01 ml by scarification of the outer side of the thigh or by puncturing the wing membrane with a double needle.

Fighting viruses is difficult. As already mentioned in the article, it makes sense to drink all the livestock with an antiviral agent. Of course, it is better for prevention, in order to stimulate the body's defenses, but if the chickens do get sick with smallpox, these funds will also have an antiviral effect. Their main drawback is the relative high cost and the high probability that the virus strain will be immune to this drug. For example, you can use the drug "Anfluron" - dissolve 2 ml in 1 liter of water and drink chickens for 2-3 days.

Ideally, if smallpox is found on the farm, sick, weak, emaciated poultry should be disposed of, and clinically healthy poultry should be immunized. Poultry meat with pronounced signs of the disease is not eaten. Feathers can be used after 20 minutes of hot steam. Eggs of turkey pox patients, chickens are not taken for incubation.

Disinfection plays a huge role in the treatment of poultry pox... The surfaces with which sick chickens were in contact are treated with the following preparations (one of):

40% formaldehyde or Brovadez-plus in the form of an aerosol (20 ml of the drug per 1 cubic meter of room)

3% hot sodium hydroxide solution

1.5% Brovadez-plus solution

Two-time whitewashing with 20% slurry of freshly slaked lime.

Tatiana Kuzmenko, member of the editorial board

There are several forms of manifestation of this disease in chickens, each of which differs in a number of specific signs, as well as in the percentage of mortality among birds.

So, let's take a look at them in detail.:

1. Cutaneous form(also called smallpox) - this form is considered the easiest and, with timely treatment, is not capable of causing significant harm to the herd.

   The cutaneous form of chicken pox is characterized by the appearance in birds on naked areas of the body (catkins, crest, base of the beak, areas around the eyes) growths, which in their appearance resemble warts covered with blood scabs.

   As a rule, this form of the disease goes away after 5-6 weeks and has a very favorable prognosis, since it proceeds without complications. In addition, smallpox is localized exclusively on the head of the bird.

   REFERENCE... On average, the mortality rate of chickens from the cutaneous form of smallpox is no more than 8%.

2. Diphtheria form of smallpox- is the most severe type of disease and is characterized by a high percentage of bird mortality (up to 50%).

   This form of chickenpox is characterized by the following symptoms:

   • lesion with ulcers of the oral strip, esophagus, larynx, and also the chicken trachea;
   • heavy breathing, accompanied by a whistling;
   • cough, wheezing;
   • the bird is constantly stretching its neck;
   • open beak;
   • the bird refuses to feed;
   • the appearance of rhinitis with yellow discharge (when diphtheria smallpox struck the nasal mucosa);
   • the appearance around the eyes of dense swelling with pus;
   • swelling of the eyelids;
   • profuse lacrimation, etc.

   IMPORTANT... In the presence of unfavorable conditions, the mortality rate in a herd from diphtheria smallpox can reach 70%. An important role here is played by the age of the birds, the quality of food, as well as the conditions of detention.

3. Mixed form- has signs characteristic of both the skin form of chicken pox and diphtheria. As a rule, changes are found both on the skin of birds and on the mucous membranes. In this form of the disease, the mortality rate of birds ranges from 30 to 50%.

Causes and methods of transmission

It should be noted that chickenpox can develop as a result of the penetration of the pathogen into the herd from the outside, or because of the pathogen that has already been among the birds for a certain time. In this case, the main source of this disease is sick or recovered individuals.

The following routes of transmission of chickenpox are distinguished:

• contact of sick birds with healthy ones;
• using infected inventory;
• contact with rodents or wild birds, which are often carriers of this disease;
• through ticks, mosquitoes and other insects, which chickens are exposed to;
• through faeces, water, feed, feathers, down, and infected clothing of the farmer.

It should also be noted that the pathogen of chicken pox can penetrate through damage to the skin or mucous membranes of birds.

Diagnostics

Despite the fact that signs of chickenpox can be detected already during a preliminary examination of the bird, nevertheless, for a correct diagnosis, it is necessary to use more accurate diagnostic methods.

REFERENCE... For example, the diphtheria form of chickenpox can be easily confused with infectious laryngotracheitis or herpes infection. In addition, lesions that develop in chickens due to a lack of pantothenic acid or biotin are often mistaken for smallpox.

Typically, chickenpox is diagnosed by lesion histopathology. In this case, a characteristic sign of the presence of this disease is the identification of intracytoplasmic bodies.

Treatment and prevention methods

In order to prevent the appearance of this disease in the herd, it is important to carry out a number of preventive measures, which boil down to the following:

1. Vaccination of both young animals and adults is the most effective measure. So, the vaccine can be given to chickens from the age of 7 weeks. The most effective vaccines are: "VGNKI", "Nobilis", "FOWL Pox".

   The dosage for 1 bird is 0.01 ml of the drug. It should be injected into the wing membrane. After 7-10 days, it is necessary to inspect the individuals for the presence of a crust or swelling at the injection site.

   ATTENTION... If no traces are found at the injection site, then, accordingly, it can be concluded that the vaccine is of poor quality, or was administered incorrectly. It is also possible that the chickens have already been vaccinated.

2. The coop must be kept clean and disinfected regularly.
3. Prevent the possibility of contact between birds and rodents.
4. If sick chickens were found, then they should immediately be isolated from healthy individuals.
5. It is necessary to thoroughly disinfect the equipment, as well as the clothes that are used for work on the farm.

If, nevertheless, sick birds were found in the herd, then their treatment must be done in the following way:

• sick and healthy birds should be given Anfluron together with water (the dosage is 2 ml per 1 liter of liquid for 3 days);
• the house should be thoroughly treated with an aqueous solution of formaldehyde (40%) or lime (20%).

It is important to note that treatment of sick birds will only have an effect at the onset of the disease. At the same time, the meat of sick chickens should not be eaten, and eggs should not be used for incubation.

The most correct solution would be to send sick individuals to slaughter, and to vaccinate healthy ones urgently.

Do not forget that the key to the health of your birds is to create the right conditions for them, well-established and balanced and carefully organized both in it and. Quality plays an equally important role.It should be noted that chickenpox can cause significant harm from an economic point of view, since it entails the extinction of up to half of the herd, and is also characterized by a significant decrease in egg production in birds.

For example, in Holland, chicken pox is responsible for 12% of all losses in the poultry industry.

In addition, having appeared in the flock at least once, the disease comes back again and again, causing a high percentage of morbidity and mortality among birds.

Thus, as noted earlier, the most effective way to deal with chickenpox is the implementation of timely vaccination... It is this measure that will reliably protect the "chicken kingdom" from this dangerous ailment.

Summing up, it should be noted that chickenpox is a very serious disease that requires close attention to the condition of birds in order to timely identify the first signs of the disease and take appropriate measures.

Smallpox is a common viral disease domestic birds (chickens, turkeys, pigeons and canaries) and over 60 wild bird species representing 20 families. It is a slowly spreading disease. It is characterized by the development of isolated nodular, proliferative skin lesions on non-feathered parts of the body ( cutaneous form) or lesions on the mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract, mouth and esophagus ( diphtheria form).

With a mild cutaneous form of the disease, mortality in the flock is usually low. However, it can be high in generalized infections. This happens with diphtheria, in poor environmental conditions, or when the disease is complicated by other infections.

Avian smallpox has no public health relevance. It usually has no effect on mammals. Avian pox viruses infect birds of both sexes, all ages and breeds. The disease is common throughout the world

Smallpox transmission.

Smallpox virus infection spreads by mechanical transmission of the pathogen to wounds on the skin. When handling birds during vaccination, people can carry the virus on their hands and clothing, which can then enter the eyes of susceptible birds. Insects can also be mechanical carriers of the virus and cause ocular infection in birds.

Smallpox symptoms.

The cutaneous form of the disease is characterized by nodular lesions on the crest, earrings, eyelids, and other non-feathered areas of the body. In the diphtheria form, ulcers or yellowish diphtheria lesions are formed on the mucous membrane of the mouth, esophagus or trachea, combined with mild or severe respiratory symptoms.

Morbidity and mortality.

Smallpox incidence in chickens and turkeys, ranges from a few birds in a flock to an entire flock when exposed to a highly virulent virus and neglected controls. When birds are infected with the cutaneous form of the disease, they are more likely to recover than when infected with the diphtheria form involving the upper respiratory tract. The effect of smallpox on chickens usually results in wasting and poor weight gain. When laying hens become infected, the time to start laying eggs is delayed. The disease lasts approximately 3-4 weeks, but in the presence of complicating factors, the period can be much longer.

In commercial turkey breeding, stunting is more financially important than mortality... Most of the losses are attributed to blindness due to cutaneous ocular lesions and starvation. If smallpox infects brood flocks, egg production may decrease and impaired fertility... With an uncomplicated mild infection, the disease in a flock can last 2-3 weeks. Severe outbreaks often last 6, 7, or even 8 weeks.

Mortality in flocks of chickens and turkeys is usually low. However, in severe cases, it can be higher than 50%. The morbidity and mortality from smallpox among pigeons and parrots is about the same as in chickens. In canaries, smallpox can cause mortality rates of 80-100%. Significant mortality is also observed in quails when they are infected with the quail pox virus.

The first signs of smallpox observed in turkeys are small yellowish eruptions on the catkins and other parts of the head. They are soft and easily removed at the pustular stage. In their place, there are inflamed areas covered with sticky serous exudate. The corners of the mouth, eyes and bucco-pharyngeal membrane are usually affected. Further, the lesions enlarge and become covered with a dry scab or a yellowish-red or brown mass, similar to a wart.

In small turkey poults, the head and legs may be completely covered with lesions. The disease can even spread to the feathered parts of the body. In unusual outbreaks of smallpox in turkey flocks, proliferative lesions may occur in the oviduct, cloaca, and the skin around the anus.

Diagnosis

Signs typical of fowlpox must be confirmed by histopathology (presence of cytoplasmic inclusions) or by virus isolation. The diphtheria form of the disease in chickens associated with respiratory symptoms must be distinguished from infectious laryngotracheitis and infection caused by herpes virus... Lesions caused in small chickens deficiency of pantothenic acid or biotin or toxin T-2 can be mistaken for smallpox lesions.

Chickenpox vaccine

The chicken embryo vaccine contains live, unreduced smallpox virus that can cause serious illness in chickens if used improperly. It is inserted into the wing web of four week old chicks and pullets approximately 1–2 months before the expected start of egg production. Chickens can also be vaccinated at one day of age. One vaccination provides lifelong protection.

Pigeon pox vaccine

The pigeon pox vaccine contains a live, unreduced virus naturally occurring in pigeons. This vaccine can cause severe reactions in these birds if misused. The virus is less pathogenic for chickens and turkeys. It can be inserted into the wing web and can be used for chickens of any age.

Turkeys can be vaccinated at any age in the wing membrane or drumstick. If necessary, you can vaccinate one-day-old turkey poults, but to establish better immunity, it is more correct to wait up to 8 weeks. Re-vaccination during growth is recommended. And it is imperative to re-vaccinate the turkeys left as producers.

Quail smallpox vaccine

For immunization of quails, chickens and turkeys, there is a live vaccine based on quail pox virus... But it does not provide adequate protection against chickenpox infection.

Vaccination results

After 7-10 days after vaccination, the flock should be examined for results. The result may be a swelling of the skin or crust at the vaccination site. This testimony successful vaccination... Immunity usually develops 10-14 days after vaccination. Most susceptible birds should have these results if the vaccine is used correctly. Most of at least 10% of birds should be examined for such evidence of vaccination.

The absence of signs of vaccination indicates that the bird has already been vaccinated or received a bad vaccine (expired or exposed to harmful effects) or it was administered incorrectly.

Vaccination is indicated under the following conditions

1) if the flock in the house was infected in the previous year; all young birds that are already in the poultry house or that have got there from other places should undergo compulsory vaccination against smallpox; 2) if there was smallpox last year and the pigeon pox vaccine was used for immunization, it is necessary to re-vaccinate the birds with the chickenpox vaccine; this is due to the short duration of the action of the immunity obtained when using the pigeon pox vaccine; 3) to protect against infection from nearby poultry houses in areas with a predominance of smallpox, it is necessary to apply the chickenpox vaccine.

If you liked this article, subscribe to receive by email subsequent articles

(Visitors 1 611; 1 for today)

Smallpox refers to an infectious disease of chickens. Pigeons and turkeys are most susceptible to it.

Chickens are in 3rd place. Smallpox is caused by a virus. There are 2 types of chicken pox: skin and diphtheria. At the first, specific ulcerative lesions (pockmarks) develop on non-feathered parts of the body. The diphtheria form gives lesions on the mucous membranes of the mouth and esophagus. The incubation period (when symptoms are still difficult to notice) lasts approximately 2 weeks.

Symptoms of the disease

With a cutaneous form, nodular ulcers appear on the crest, earrings, eyelids. With the diphtheria variety, yellowish wounds appear on the mucous membranes of the mouth, esophagus, trachea. All this is accompanied by shortness of breath. Chickens lose their appetite, they do not gain weight well. Layers stop laying. The active period of the disease usually lasts up to 4 weeks, but if the outbreak is strong, then 2 times longer. The mortality rate is low, but with severe damage it reaches 50%.

How smallpox is transmitted

The pathogen is transmitted by contact; it must get into the wound on the skin. The main source of infection is a sick and recovered bird. In smallpox scabs, the pathogen lives up to 2 years. The virus is also transmitted by insects and people on their clothes and hands during the vaccination period. An infected female can transmit the virus to her offspring through eggs. The disease affects all chickens, regardless of age. The virus acts in the same way on adults and chickens.

Smallpox treatment

Smallpox is not treated, only vaccinations are given. The presence of the disease is confirmed in laboratory conditions by isolating the pathogen. The diphtheria form of smallpox without appropriate tests can be easily confused, for example, with viral laryngotracheitis.

The smallpox vaccine is obtained from a chicken embryo and contains a natural, rather strong virus. It must be applied strictly according to the recommendations, otherwise you can infect all the livestock. Chickens can be vaccinated at one day old or 4 weeks old pullets. The vaccine should be purchased from specialized institutions where it is stored correctly. Otherwise, the effect may be zero.

Prophylaxis

Smallpox of birds is a highly contagious disease, which has a predominantly subacute and chronic course and is characterized by the formation of specific lesions on the skin of a sick bird, and on the mucous membranes of diphtheria

For the first time the disease was described at the end of the 18th century and had the name "infectious conjunctivitis of chickens", and at the beginning of the last century a specific causative agent of bird pox was isolated. Subsequently, researchers considered smallpox to be one of the forms of diphtheria manifestation, but later, in the thirties of the same century, the independent nature of the disease was proved and the name "smallpox-diphtheria" was finally replaced by the familiar "birdpox".

Etiology

The causative agent of fowl pox is a DNA-containing representative of avipoxviruses, from the poxvirus family and has a number of species specific to various bird species.

The difference between the avian pox virus and most causative agents of viral diseases is its high resistance to unfavorable environmental factors. Having a pronounced epitheliotropy, the smallpox virus is released into the external environment mainly with particles of rejected skin. The presence of the virus in the cells of the scales of the exfoliated epithelium explains its resistance. So the virus remains viable for up to 4-5 months on the floor of the room, and on the surface of feathers up to six months. Solar irradiation can withstand up to 7 days, an increase in temperature to + 60 ° C kills the pathogen of smallpox within 10-15 minutes, and lyophilization and negative temperatures lead to the conservation of the virus and the preservation of its viability for several years. At the same time, the causative agent of bird pox dies rather quickly in the decaying remains.

Epizootology

Waterfowl is not susceptible to smallpox virus; among chickens, pheasants, peacocks and small wild birds, the disease, on the contrary, develops very quickly. In industrial poultry farming, with crowded poultry keeping, more than two-thirds of the flock are often affected. Smallpox outbreak mortality can reach 60%, especially among younger age groups. Predisposing to a smallpox outbreak are:

• violation of the temperature regime in the poultry house;
• insufficient balance of the diet;
• insufficient air exchange in the poultry house;
• hypovitaminosis, especially a lack of vitamin A.

The main ways of spreading the virus among susceptible poultry are contact, alimentary and aerogenic (transmission of the pathogen through contaminated bedding and equipment), transmissible - through the bites of hematophagous insects, which are vectors of the disease. The virus is secreted with outflows from the beak and eyes of a sick and infected bird, droppings and peeling crusts of smallpox skin lesions. When taking measures aimed at combating poultry smallpox, it should be borne in mind that individuals who have been ill for at least 2 months after clinical recovery are virus carriers and actively excrete the pathogen into the external environment, representing a stationary source of infection.

Pathogenesis and symptoms

Having penetrated into the bird's body through damaged skin or mucous membranes of the respiratory and digestive tract, the virus primarily affects the epithelial cells. After replication and accumulation of a large number of virions, the pathogen enters the bloodstream and spreads throughout the body. After 1-2 weeks, the virus can be detected, in addition to the lesions, also in:

• kidneys;
• the brain;
• liver;
• spleen and other internal organs.

The incubation period for natural infection lasts from 3 days to 3 weeks. It was noted that the disease rarely occurs in chickens under the age of 30 days. The most susceptible bird is at the age of puberty, due to a drop in immunity against the background of hormonal changes in the body.
Typical for smallpox are the lesions of the crest and catkins, as well as the appearance of diphtheria layers on the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract, which leads to difficulty breathing and is often the cause of the death of the bird.

During smallpox, an acute, subacute and chronic form is distinguished. The acute form is observed most rarely and develops mainly in weakened individuals of the younger age group.

In addition to the characteristics of the rate of development of the pathological process in smallpox, there are:

• smallpox (skin);
• diphtheria;
• mixed form.

Clinical signs common to all forms of smallpox are a decrease or lack of appetite, lethargy, a drop in productivity, up to the complete cessation of egg production and negative weight gain.

The cutaneous form is the most benign. With it, foci of hyperemia first appear on the skin of a sick bird, which later go through the stages of pustules and vesicles, spontaneously open up with the release of a sticky exudate and dry out, covered with crusts. The bulk of birds affected by the cutaneous form of smallpox recovers. With this form, the greatest danger is the joining of the pathogenic microflora to the pathological process, which easily penetrates the pockmarked places.

The diphtheritic form is characterized by a slower development of the process, simultaneously with its greater clinical severity. The main lesions in the diphtheritic form are the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract. On the surface of the oral cavity, larynx and trachea, characteristic films of gray-yellow plaque are formed, tightly adhered to the underlying mucous membrane. After some time (on average 2-3 weeks), diphtheria films are spontaneously rejected with the formation of ulcers and erosions. Damaged mucous membranes are also a good environment for the development of pathogenic microflora. The bird has difficulty breathing, discharge from the nasal passages, problems with food and water intake. Against this background, depletion develops. In the diphtheritic form, most of the bird recovers if there is no development of secondary infections.
The mixed form of smallpox is characterized by signs of both cutaneous and diphtheria lesions. Mixed smallpox is the most difficult and it gives the highest mortality rate among patients.

The diagnosis of poultry smallpox is made on the basis of a combination of clinical signs, the results of an autopsy, as well as with the help of specific laboratory tests. To confirm the diagnosis, an electronic virusoscopy is performed to detect the pathogen, as well as microscopy, with the aim of establishing the presence of Bollinger bodies in the cells.

If necessary, a biological test is carried out on young chickens at the age of 3-4 months. For this, the extract of the pathological material is rubbed into the scarified surface of the ridge or into the feather follicles on the lower leg immediately after plucking out the feathers. If the result is positive, characteristic smallpox lesions develop at the sites of application of the pathological material on days 5-8.
In addition, serological studies are carried out in the reactions of diffuse precipitation, immunofluorescence and others.

Treatment and prevention

Since specific methods of treating poultry pox, as well as many diseases of viral etiology, have not been developed, the main attention is paid to improving the living conditions of the livestock and optimizing the diet. Fresh greens, hay flour are introduced into the feed, the diet is enriched with vitamin supplements.
In addition, one of the main tasks is to suppress the secondary microflora, to combat which antibacterial drugs are used, for example, tetracycline antibiotics. In severe diphtheria lesions, films are removed from the tongue and mucous membranes of the oral cavity of a sick bird, lubricating the removal sites with iodine-glycerin, or with an emulsion of antibacterial agents on fish oil.

A sick bird acquires immunity against the smallpox virus, which protects against re-infection for 2-3 years.
In the event of an outbreak of smallpox, restrictions are imposed on the farm, concerning, first of all, the export of poultry and eggs for further incubation outside the farm. Clinically sick poultry is sent for slaughter and further processing, clinically healthy poultry is allowed to be slaughtered for meat. The parent stock is immunized.

For the prevention of smallpox, vaccines made from strains of the pigeonpox virus and weakened chickenpox virus are used. Immunity of sufficient tension remains in vaccinated chickens for about 10 months, in chickens from 3 months to six months.

Samples of documents