Pathological study of candidiasis in a desi bird: A case report

Abstract

Candidiasis is a fungal disease affecting poultry, primarily caused by the genus Candida. A poultry desi bird of 40 days old was presented for necropsy to the Department of Veterinary Pathology, Veterinary College, Hassan with a history of weakness and anorexia. It was from a flock with a total of 1100 birds in which death of 10-20 birds each day were recorded. On external examination, body condition appeared poor, conjunctival mucous membrane was pale. The keel bone was prominent. Internal examination revealed intestine with moderate diffuse petechial haemorrhage and turkey towel appearance of crop. The sample from the crop was submitted to Department of Microbiology for culture and identification. The sample cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar revealed thick creamy colonies typical of yeast. Microscopic examination of the colonies stained by Gram’s stain revealed budding yeast cells characteristic of Candida species. Antifungal assay performed using the pure colony of Candida spp. by disc diffusion method revealed that the isolate was sensitive to all the antifungal agents used.