Pathological Manifestations of Naturally Occurring Gout in Broiler chickens reared in North Kashmir

Abstract

Chicken is more susceptible to gout due to uricotelic mechanism for excretion of nitrogenous waste and the absence of the enzyme uricase, which converts uric acid into less harmful substances. Uric acid itself is not toxic but precipitated crystals can cause severe mechanical damage to tissues like kidneys, heart, lungs and intestine leading to visceral gout and also articular gout in joints. Gout is a complex metabolic disease influenced by infectious agents, nutritional factors and management practices. The gross examination revealed swollen kidneys with chalky white deposits on the surface. Microscopically, the kidneys showed tophi formation or urate granulomas in the interstitial spaces, containing areas of caseous necrosis surrounded by urates. The histological sections stained with H & E highlighted the presence of urate crystals in the interstitial, intertubular and intraglomerular areas, surrounded by epithelioid cells. The duplicate sections stained with De-Galantha's method displayed urate particles as black masses, needles or acicular crystals arranged in a radiating pattern. Based on this study, it was concluded that gout in birds caused marked pathological changes in the visceral organs of the affected birds causing huge economic loses to poor farmers.