Spirochaetosis

Spirochaetosis
Also called as Tick Fever or Tick
Paralysis
Disease was first recorded by Peas
(1908)
Notifiable disease in poultry
 Etiology
Borrelia anserina
Spiral shaped organisms with 8 – 25 µm in
length
Stained by ordinary aniline dyes
22 isolates have been found in India
4 main serotypes- W(5), X(3), Y(2), Z(12)
IVRI vaccine with W(5) serotype
 Host
Mainly affects poultry and turkeys
May occur in geese, ducks,
pheasants, canneries, sparrows and
crows
Pigeons are relatively resistant
 Transmission
Important vector borne disease
Ticks like Argus persicus and red
mite are main vectors
Argus persicus can harbour infection
for 488 days and transmit infection
up to 7 days after feeding on
infected blood
Trans-ovarian transmission of
spirochetes in ticks
 Route of infection
Tick bite
Eating of infected tick by the bird
Ingestion of food and water
contaminated with excreta of
infected bird
Smearing of organisms on comb or
skin
 Clinical signs
Incubation period – 3 to 4 days
Spirochetes increase in number in blood
for 2-3 days and then disappear suddenly
Constant or relapsing fever- 43.5 to 44.5 °c
Greenish diarrhea
Increased thirst, depression, somnolence,
loss of appetite
Cyanosis of comb
 Cont..
Sometimes jaundice may also be
seen
Inco-ordination and paralytic effect
on legs and wings at 5-6 hrs after
the onset of symptoms
Death with in 12 hrs in acute cases
and in 6-8 days in less acute cases,
mortality as high as 80 %
 Hematological alterations
Days post Clinical Haemoglobin Leucocytes
infection evaluation

1-2 Incubation Slight anemia Leucocytosis with

neutrophilia
3 -5 Peak Increase in Increase in
anemia 25-30% neutrophils

5-6 Crisis Peak of anemia Leucopenia

50%
6 - 10 Convalencence Improvement in Mononuclear
anemia leucocytosis
 Post mortem lesions
Enlarged spleen, mottled because necrotic
white pulp appears as grey spots against
dark red pulp
Distinctly swollen liver with pin point
necrotic spots, sometimes liver becomes
yellowish green
Linear hemorrhages seen between
proventricular gland- important lesion
Hemorrhagic dermatitis may also be seen
 Histopathology
Necrosis of germinal centers and hyalinization of the
Malphighian corpuscles of spleen
Hypertrophy and hyperplasia of reticuloendothelial cells
with foamy cytoplasm
Liver shows focal areas of necrosis, infiltration of
lymphocytes and macrophages in portal areas with
occasional focal hemorrhages
Hypertrophy of Kuffer cells with foamy cytoplasm
Fatty change and hematopoiesis in liver in convalescent
birds
Necrotic lungs with pneumonic patches
Cattarrhal enteritis with mononuclear cell infiltration
Perivascular gliosis in brain
 Diagnosis
Clinical sings
Blood smear examination- Stained with Levaditi
or Fontana stain
Cultural isolation and identification- Inoculation in
yolk sac of 6 days old chicken embryo, death of
embryo in 9 to 10 days in positive cases,
demonstration of organisms in allantoic fluid and
embryo blood 2 days post inoculation
Serological test: AGPT, FAT
Spirochaete immobilization test
 Prevention
Effective control of ticks and mites
Proper disposal of infective carcasses
Vaccination: may not be highly
successful due to several serotypes
*Inactivated Fowl Spirochaetosis
Vaccine given at 6th wk of age
intramuscularly, immunity lasts for
one year.
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