Poultry Diseases Masterclass: Diagnosis & Prevention

Identify infectious poultry pathogens using classical isolation and immunological assays alongside modern molecular methods, including PCR and sequencing, to diagnose, characterize, and track outbreaks in flocks.

Identify key poultry diseases for professionals, including avian influenza, infectious bronchitis, and chronic respiratory disease, and discuss implications for morbidity, mortality, prevention, and clinical trials.

Explore avian chlamydiosis, a reportable zoonotic infection in poultry and birds, its clinical signs, transmission to humans, and diagnosis, prevention, and treatment options.

Explore infectious coryza in chickens, including conjunctivitis. Learn transmission by water and fomites, and prevention through cleaning, disinfection, carrier elimination, and a two-dose vaccination at three weeks apart.

Trace the evolving classification and impact of salmonella and typhoid on poultry, explore hatchery disease control, and learn serological testing, ELISA, and eradication strategies for prevention.

Explore typhoid in poultry, caused by salmonella, its outbreaks in mature flocks, and how diagnosis, testing, and prevention under the National Poultry Improvement Plan address eggshell spread and lesions.

Identify arizoniasis as an egg-transmitted zoonosis that causes septicemia or localized lesions in young poultry, spreading through contaminated eggshells and hatcheries and persisting in environments.

Salmonella paratyphoid risks in poultry, including transmission, clinical signs, diagnosis, sanitation, vaccination, and prevention strategies to protect animal and public health.

Fowl cholera is an infectious poultry disease with acute and chronic forms affecting many birds. It involves a variable gram-negative agent, carrier transmission, diagnosis, and vaccination strategies.

Resist penicillin; Mycoplasma are the smallest prokaryotes with no cell wall and have a narrow host range, primarily infecting the respiratory system of commercial poultry.

Learn how mycoplasma infections affect chickens and turkeys, with transmission by direct contact and aerosols, diagnosis by culture or serology, and prevention through vaccination and breeder flock biosecurity.

Identify mycoplasma synovial infections causing infectious sinusitis in chickens and turkeys, with joint inflammation. Diagnose by PCR or ELISA and manage via quarantine and antibiotics, as no vaccine exists.

An overview of Escherichia coli infection in poultry, detailing septicemia and organ infections, environmental risk factors, economic impact, and prevention through sanitation and prudent antibiotic use.

Explore how poultry feed nutrients—amino acids, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals—drive growth, liveability, and reproduction, and how diagnosing and treating nutritional diseases improves performance.

Explore biotin deficiency in poultry, where vitamin H acts as a coenzyme in lipid metabolism, with dermatitis, embryonic abnormalities, and fatty liver syndrome; water-soluble vitamins may be administered as needed.

Riboflavin deficiency in poultry causes paralysis and growth setbacks from sciatic and peripheral nerve lesions, with dermatitis, beak curling, stunted growth, reduced hatchability, and high embryo mortality.

Learn how vitamin a deficiency affects young poultry, its ocular and systemic signs, and prevention and treatment through vitamin supplementation and balanced vitamin d and e inputs.

Explore vitamin e deficiency in poultry, including three distinct disorder symptoms and its link to muscular dystrophy, plus the roles of selenium and antioxidants in prevention.

Identify rickets in poultry caused by vitamin d3 or calcium-phosphorus imbalance, with bone lesions and lameness. Treat by a balanced diet with adequate calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin d3.

Identify external parasites in poultry, including lice and mites, by skin and feather examination. Use staged treatments at 7–10 day intervals, addressing birds and environment for mites and other pests.

Explore protozoal infections of the poultry digestive tract in intensive confinement systems, their impact on diarrhea and production loss, and how vaccines and antibacterial drugs aid prevention and control.

Coccidiosis is a common avian protozoan disease in poultry causing diarrhea and intestinal damage, with subclinical infections impacting production; vaccines and drugs enable prevention and control in confined systems.

Improve farm hygiene and sanitation by removing dirty litter and cleaning facilities to reduce coccidiosis contamination. Apply vaccines and strategic anticoccidial programs for prevention and control.

Investigate poultry parasitic diseases caused by protozoa, including cryptosporidiosis and malaria-like infections, with emphasis on tissue sites, necrotizing liver lesions, renal and digestive tract involvement, and intracellular lifecycles.

Explore poultry internal parasites, focusing on nematodes and their indirect life cycle with intermediate hosts, and review prevention and FDA-approved treatments for meat and egg birds.

Explains aspergillosis in poultry, caused by Aspergillus fumigatus, its respiratory and systemic invasion, and outlines hatchery prevention and diagnosis through histology and fungal detection.

Candidiasis in poultry, caused by Candida albicans, inflames the upper digestive tract with thrush-like lesions; diagnose via histopathology and brush growth signs, and prevent with strict sanitation and disinfection.

Identify fungal diseases in poultry, including favus and ochroconosis, by recognizing signs of aspergillosis, skin and feather lesions, hyperkeratosis, and the influence of sawdust litter.

Learn how aflatoxin and other mycotoxins from Aspergillus and Fusarium threaten poultry liver health, and how detection, feed management, and binding strategies prevent outbreaks.

conduct necropsy to inform a differential diagnosis from macroscopic lesions and collect samples for tests such as PCR or virus scan; observe live birds for signs and examine key organs.

Conduct necropsy to observe internal lesions, establish differential diagnosis, and guide action; collect blood, swabs, and eggs for serology and send samples to a diagnostic lab for confirmation.

Learn postmortem examination in poultry to determine mortality cause, differentiate disease-specific changes, and follow steps like external and internal exams, organ sampling, and report writing.

Investigate poultry health problems by evaluating housing and environmental factors and the bird-agent interaction, then apply sampling tools and microscopy to support diagnosis, welfare, and production efficiency.

Learn how avian diagnostic laboratories collect and package samples, perform viral and bacterial tests on blood, swabs, and tissues, and apply PCR, ELISA, and histopathology under accredited quality standards.

Master proper usage of FTA cards to collect poultry samples for rapid identification of avian pathogens using PCR and sequencing, with easy storage and shipping and no refrigeration.

Analyze serology by measuring serum antibody titers after vaccination or exposure, extract serum via centrifugation, and distinguish serum from plasma for Newcastle or IBD testing.

Learn the ELISA protocol by preparing serum and dilution, applying diluent and conjugate to each well for 30 minutes, preparing and adding dissolved substrate, and reading the results.

Identify egg shell abnormalities such as holes, cracks, and wrinkling caused by formation flaws, linked to infectious bronchitis, Mycoplasma infection, fungal toxins, and lighting or water stress.

Explore how epidemiology serves as a diagnostic and control tool for poultry diseases, linking pathogens, environment, and management to identify risk factors and guide prevention.

Identify symptoms and lesions, suspect and confirm poultry disease diagnoses, and differentiate conditions to guide diagnosis.

Analyze reported flock symptoms and post mortem lesions to diagnose poultry diseases, propose suspected and confirmed diagnoses, and outline steps for field and laboratory confirmation.