Incidence of duck plague (Duck viral enteritis) in Tiruchirappalli district

Abstract

Duck plague is an acute, highly contagious and fatal disease of domestic ducks. Six to ten dead ducks, 75 days old were brought to Veterinary University Training and Research Centre, Tiruchirappalli from a farm of 3200 Kollam ducks reared. Dullness, inappetence, conjunctivitis, oculonasal discharge, soiled vent with green white watery diarrhoea, dehydration, ataxia and incoordination were the reported signs in sick birds. Post-mortem examination revealed abnormal inflammation of the liver with multifocal gray-white areas on the surface, petechial haemorrhages on the epicardial surface, fibrinous material over the mucosal surface of the trachea, diphtheritic membrane in the oesophagus, congestion of oesophagus, intestine, and cloaca. HA titre for New Castle Disease was nil in samples of spleen, lung, caecal tonsils, trachea and brain. Clostridium species was detected during culture examination of heart blood swab. Water sample analysis showed numerous colony forming units of lactose fermenter and non-lactose fermenter bacterria. The investigation revealed the death of ducks due to duck viral enteritis.