Zakażenia E. Coli w gołębie

E. coli infection is caused by the bacteria Escherichia coli. This bacteria is very common world wide and is a common inhabitant of the intestinal tract of mammals and some birds. There has been some debate as to whether or not it is a NORMAL inhabitant of pigeons, however, I have found it in the vast majority of lofts that I have checked, many with no symptoms whatsoever of disease related to the organism

E. Coli has been shown to be the cause of disease in many species of animals, and symptoms vary from species to species. This bacteria has many different “strains” that infect our pigeons that vary immensely in their ability to produce disease. These “strains” are called serotypes and can be differentiated in special laboratories for that purpose. Some serotypes can easily cause disease while others rarely do. The ability to cause disease (pathogenicity) of the various serotypes of E. coli is related to: The ability to produce toxins. Some strains of E. coli produce endotoxins which can produce profound illness. I personally feel that these endotoxins are a big cause of poor performance in some lofts. We will discuss that later. The ability to invade past the intestinal wall and cause infection in other organs. Some E. coli can readily get into the liver, kidney, and other organs producing disease. The ability to overcome the pigeons immune system. Some E. coli serotypes have the ability to avoid some of the pigeons immune defense systems and thus produce disease more readily than other serotypes.

Infection with E. coli can be classified as primary or secondary. Primary infection means that it can produce disease all by itself and indeed some serotypes of this bacteria can do this. However, in my experience, 90% of the infections are secondary. In other words there is some underlying cause for the infection. This cause is usually some form of stress such as a heavy molt, coccidia, adenovirus, canker, intestinal worms, crowding, heavy training, and poor nutrition. Because 90 % of the E. coli problems are secondary, IT IS CRITICAL to look for an underlying cause when E. coli is diagnosed in your birds.

When we diagnose E. coli infection, we usually do so based on a number of symptoms of disease problems. It rarely causes the same signs in every case. In fact, the symptoms that E. coli can cause are essentially the same as those caused by salmonella (paratyphoid). I often become suspicious of E. coli when I start to see various symptoms arise in a persons loft. The symptoms include: Enteritis: This is the most common of the problems associated with E. coli and simply is loose droppings. Pigeons that are affected typically have a green diarrhea and some will vomit. SLOW CROP EMPTYING is a big red flag for E. coli. When infected, a bird’s crop will often still have grain in it from the previous evening (it should be empty). In any event, birds can quickly lose weight and die suddenly with this form. Joint infections: E. coli like salmonella, can cause joint infections. This results in lameness or a dropped wing. Swelling may or may not be seen in the affected joint. If this occurs, it is critical to treat quickly to prevent permanent damage from occurring.

Nagła śmierć:
Nagła śmierć ptaków w każdym wieku, często bez wcześniejszych objawów, jest powszechna w przypadku E. coli (i salmonelli). Wynika to z nagłej, przytłaczającej infekcji (posocznicy). Ta masowa infekcja z produkcją toksyn bardzo szybko zabije ptaka. W mojej praktyce jedną z najczęstszych rzeczy, które widzę w przypadku infekcji E. coli, jest nagła śmierć pozornie otyłych, zdrowych młodych ludzi z wiekiem. Te dzieci będą pełne jedzenia i po prostu martwe bez wyraźnego powodu. Jeśli wyhoduję prawie każdy organ od jednego z tych martwych młodych ludzi, dostanę dużą liczbę E. coli. Wiek zbiega się ze spadkiem odporności, jaką otrzymały z jaja i mleka roślinnego. Problemy z płodnością: Chociaż E. coli może powodować problemy z płodnością u obu płci, kury często się rozprzestrzeniają i wydają się być gotowe do nieśności, ale w rzeczywistości nigdy nie znoszą. Niektórzy pójdą dalej i złożą, ale jajka będą miękkie, szorstkie lub małe. Jaja, które są płodne, często giną po kilku dniach inkubacji. Hodując te jaja, wyhodujemy organizm. Czasami młode w pełni się rozwiną i po prostu nie będą w stanie się wykluć. Kiedy miałem kurę z problemami z E. coli, niezwykle trudno było ją całkowicie „wyleczyć”. Często mają problemy każdego roku. Jeśli masz dobrą kurę z problemami z E. coli, poleciłbym wyhodować odchody (da to ten sam błąd co w jajowodzie) i ustalić, które antybiotyki działają na jej serotyp. Umieść ją na tym antybiotyku (nie używaj baytrilu ani cipro, ponieważ spowoduje to również problemy z płodnością) na kilka dni przed kryciem i przez cały czas przed położeniem się. Skutkuje to często zdrowymi, płodnymi jajami, które wykluwają się bez problemu. Infekcja dróg oddechowych: bakterie mogą infekować drogi oddechowe wraz z innymi typowymi przyczynami infekcji dróg oddechowych, takimi jak wirus opryszczki, mykoplazma, chlamydia i inne bakterie. E. coli NIE jest normalnym mieszkańcem dróg oddechowych ptaka, jeśli zostanie tam znaleziony, oznacza to infekcję i musi być leczony.

Symptoms of this type of infection are usually the same as pretty severe respiratory infection from other causes, exercise intolerance, open mouthed breathing, rattles, ect. Paralysis: One will often find a bird in the loft laying on the floor unable to use it’s legs, appearing paralyzed. This can be due to an overwhelming infection (septicemia) or actual infection of the nervous system. It is a serious sign, and typical of E. coli or salmonella, and must be treated quickly as death is near for these birds. Poor performance: This symptom is one that I am beginning to consider a big one in many lofts. Now remember, this one is MY OPINION ONLY, and has certainly not been shown by any experimental evidence. We know that E. coli is a TOXIN producer, some serotypes more than others. These toxins can make birds sick in large amounts, but I feel many birds have a level of infection that doesn’t make them terribly sick, but does cause them to perform poorly. I have seen several lofts that have had performance problems and in general the only thing we could find wrong was a high level of E. coli in the droppings and no other symptoms related to E. coli infection. Now these lofts are All American and President’s Cup winners, they know how to fly, lest you think the problem is the handler. When we treated with the proper antibiotic, performance dramatically improved, but when the antibiotic was stopped, performance dropped again in a week or so. On reculture the E. coli level was high again. My theory is that the way we fly pigeons today tends to predispose them to E. coli overgrowth because of: Stress: We see this especially in young birds. We train them daily, race them weekly, expect them to molt, etc. Other diseases: All of the other bugs we see such as canker, coccidia, worms, etc., predispose to E. coli infection. Medication: All of the medication that we use to control the other diseases really takes a toll on the normal flora in our birds intestine, thus predisposing to E. coli overgrowth.

The fact that antibiotic therapy for the E. coli greatly improved performance made me think that by controlling the E. coli level we might be onto something. So, in several lofts I made them an autogenous vaccine of E. coli (one from the serotype found in their birds) and we had them vaccinated. In almost every case, performance dramatically improved to championship levels and we didn’t need to use near the antibiotics that we had previously. Once again, none of this was done with the accepted scientific method, but from my observations this could be a real key for some lofts.

When we diagnose E. coli it is critical to remember that we can not do it on symptoms alone, as other bacteria, especially salmonella, cause identical symptoms. When we suspect the bug we culture the droppings and organs of an infected pigeon. When found, we run a SENSITIVITY test to determine which antibiotic will work on the serotype found. THIS IS CRITICAL AS E. COLI VARIES TREMENDOUSLY AS TO WHICH ANTIBIOTIC KILL IT. IT DEVELOPS RESISTANCE VERY QUICKLY TO ANTIBIOTICS AND YOU SHOULD NEVER ASSUME THAT WHAT WORKED ONE TIME WILL WORK THE NEXT TIME.

Leczenie obejmuje trzy obszary: antybiotyki stosowane przez 7-10 dni: Bardzo ważne jest, aby zrobić testy wrażliwości jak wskazaliśmy wcześniej, tej bakterii są odporne na wiele leków. Wspólne antybiotyki często uważają, że prace w wielu przypadkach są:

Amoksycylina: 1500-3000 mg / żółciowego.

Baytril lub Cipro 250 mg / woreczka do Baytril i 750 mg / woreczka do Cipro. Nie używaj

w okresie lęgowym w hodowców.

Primor 30 mg / dziennie na ptaka w wodzie.

Bactrim: 30-60 mg / żółciowego

Cephalexin: 2500-3000 mg / żółciowego Leczenie przyczyny: Jeśli nie pozbyć się przyczyn, które powodują E. coli, aby pokazać się, że wkrótce wrócimy. Upewnij się kontrolować rzeczy wspomnianych wcześniej. Szczepienia: To było niezwykle pomocne dla niektórych loftów i naprawdę zwiększył swoją wydajność. To może być leczeniem z wyboru w przyszłości, jury jest jeszcze obecnie.

E. Coli Zakażenie u gołębi: dr Steve Weir DVM