Each year several millions of turkeys are lost through diseases and infections. Young turkeys are especially susceptible to diseases because their immune systems are not well developed. This makes mortality in poults quite higher than in adult turkeys.  Diseases remain one of the critical topics in the poultry industry at large. Some diseases are non-fatal while others are deadly and can even be transmitted to humans.


Early detection of disease and proper diagnosis can make a lot of difference. It must however be stressed that an absolute diagnosis can only be made after a visit to the vet. Using only symptoms may confuse you because of the similarities in the symptomatic signs of several of the diseases.


Having mentioned that, let us examine five of the deadliest diseases that affect turkeys. The list is however not in any particular order.


1.       LEUCOCYTOZOON INFECTION


i)        Description: Caused by a protozoan, the Leucocytozoon Infection is a dreaded disease with very high mortality rate in poults. Adult turkeys with matured immune system may recover from the infection. The disease attacks the internal organs of the animal and may lead to internal bleeding. Affected organs may have lesions on them which may cause other serious infections. The disease may also affect the blood of the infected bird. Leucocytozoon Infection may lead to sudden death in the infected bird.


ii)       Causes: The disease is caused by the bite of the black fly. Infection is a cycle which starts with a bite of an infected turkey by a black fly.Leucocytozoon smithi, which is the host specific to turkeys, is sucked up by the black fly after biting the infected turkey. The parasite later develops and when the fly bites another turkey, new infection takes place. The infection is only possible when the parasite matures in the black fly.


iii)     Incubation Period: The incubation period for the parasite is approximately 1 week. Mortality may occur between 7 and 20 days after the incubation period.


iv)     Symptoms: Some of the symptoms of the disease include

(1)    Listlessness

(2)    Loss of appetite

(3)    Excessive intake of water

(4)    Stunted growth

(5)    Coughing

(6)    Tracheal sound

(7)    Signs of depression

(    Lack of coordination

(9)    Tiredness

(10)Decreased egg production

(11)Decreased egg hatchability


v)      Diagnosis: The vet may screen the blood of the entire flock to detect the presence of Leucocytozoon smithi.


vi)     Prevention: Currently, only the black fly is known to transmit the disease through its bite.  Controlling the population of the insect may reduce the risk of infection. Black flies are common at locations with running water. Steps should be taken to prevent the invasion of the insect when the farm is located near such a place.


 In places where the population of the black fly cannot be controlled, preventive medication can be used to protect the flock.  Drug manufacturer, Merck, recommends that pyrimethamine (1 ppm) and sulfadimethoxine (10 ppm) added to the feed may be effective.


vii)   Treatment: There is no known effective treatment for the disease currently.

Read more at

http://turkeyview..com/2015/10/5-deadly-diseases-that-affect-turkeys.html?m=1

Healthy turkeys starts from the egg. Always buy from a reliable farm

Poults from different farms should not be mixed for the first 3 months. This is important to ensure that diseases and infections can be directly linked to the farm

Are you new to turkey farming?

Learn more here https://www.nairaland.com/2678520/raising-poults-first-six-weeks

I am doing another piece on turkey diseases. Stay tuned

Here is the other piece on common diseases. It affects millions of turkeys each day.

learn about them

http://turkeyview..com/2015/10/5-common-diseases-that-affects-turkeys.html?m=1

Only buy poults from reliable farms. The farm should implement good biosafety standards

Ever wondered how turkeys masturbate?

Here is the video on Youtube


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqlUrg1ROb0