Pathologic studies on skin affections of fowl pox [electronic resource].

Includes references.

Between January 2005 to November 2007 in different flocks, breeds, ages, sexes and localities (commercial chickens and private farms) in Sharkia Governorate, 175.0 out of 20000 chickens (8.75%) showed cutaneous lesions of Fowl pox. Specimens from such lesions were collected, fixed in 10% of buffered neutral formalin and routinely processed for histopathological examination. The chickens exhibiting cutaneous form of fowl pox were in poor body condition with a prominent keel and marked atrophy of musculatures with anorexia, a decrease in egg production (layers) and cyanosis of the skin. The mortality rate was 1%. Single or multiple warts with a crust in variable size of gray to yellow or dark brown discoloration were seen on the comb, wattle, legs and eyelids. Microscopically, the affected skin showed hyperplasia of the epidermal covering epithelium with ballooning degeneration of keratinocytes, eosinophilic intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies (Bollinger bodies) and heterophilic infiltrations and mixed with mononuclear cells extending into dermis. In the chicken embryo inoculation (CAMs), the appearance of pock lesions and the intracytoplasmic inclusions were diagnostic to the fowl pox. Finally, it could be concluded that the fowl pox is an economically important disease of commercial poultry because it can cause a drop in egg production and mortality as well as it is also one of the most important reasons of carcasses condemnation at slaughter.

Summary in Arabic.

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