Pigeon pox in pigeons
Other names: Pox، Pustules، Boils، Diphtheria
Symptoms
- Cutaneous (dry): warts/scabs around the eyes, beak, legs and bare areas
- Diphtheritic (wet): raised yellow patches in the mouth, crop and trachea that make swallowing and breathing difficult
- Weakness and emaciation
How it spreads
Mosquitoes are the most important vector (summer and autumn season in Egypt), plus contact with wounds and contaminated surfaces and dust; it spreads quickly in the flock.
Diagnosis
Appearance of the lesions; confirmation by histopathology (Bollinger bodies) or PCR. Differentiation from canker in the wet form: canker lesions come off relatively easily and have an odor.
Treatment
No specific treatment. Supportive care: topical iodine-glycerin antiseptic for the lesions, vitamin A, and an antibiotic for secondary infection as directed by the veterinarian. Do not remove the scabs by force.
Prevention
Live vaccine (applied by plucking leg feathers and rubbing the vaccine into the follicles, or by puncture) for squabs and adults before the mosquito season, and away from races and molt. Mosquito control (screens on the windows).
Treatment and doses are decided by an avian vet after an exam; Zajel does not publish doses.
Other diseases
- Paramyxovirus (pigeon Newcastle disease)
- Adenovirus type 1 (classical)
- Adenovirus type 2 (necrotizing hepatitis)
- Circovirus (pigeon circovirus)
- Young Bird Sickness syndrome (YBS)
- Herpes (pigeon herpesvirus)
- Pigeon rotavirus
- Avian influenza