Avian influenza virus subtype H9N2 (H9N2) and Chlamydia psittaci (C. psittaci) are frequently isolated in chickens with respiratory disease. However, their roles in co-infection remain unclear. We tested the hypothesis that C. psittaci enhances H9N2 infection through suppression of host immunity. Thus, 10-day-old SPF chickens were inoculated intra-tracheally with a high or low virulence C. psit...

Toxoplasmosis is one of the most common zoonosis worldwide. Caused by protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, it has estimated that up to a third human population worldwides infected with it. Humans are ingesting oocysts shed cats or eating undercooked meat containing cysts.T. gondii can cause serious illness fetus during congenital infection and fatal in immuno-compromised patients too. In addit...

Coccidiosis is an inherent risk in the commercial broiler industry and inflicts devastating economic losses to poultry operations. Probiotics may provide a potential alternative to the prophylactic use of anticoccidials in commercial production. This study evaluated the effects of probiotic applications (feed and water) on bird performance and resistance to a mixed Eimeria infection in commerci...

Although multiple genotypes of Campylobacter jejuni may be isolated from the same commercial broiler flock, little is known about the infection dynamics of different genotypes within individuals or their colonization sites within the gut. Single experimental infections with C. jejuni M1 (sequence type 137, clonal complex 45) and C. jejuni 13126 (sequence type 21, clonal complex 21) revealed tha...

Several studies have highlighted the association between bird song and parasite load, but there is no evidence regarding the relationships among pathogens and alarm or distress calls, which are used in antipredator strategies. We analyzed the association between virus infection and the distress calls of lesser short-toed lark (Calandrella rufescens), addressing the relationships between call ac...

Migratory birds have evolved elaborate physiological adaptations to travelling, the implications for their susceptibility to avian influenza are however unknown. Three groups of stonechats (Saxicola torquata) from (I) strongly migrating, (II) weakly migrating and (III) non-migrating populations were experimentally infected with HPAIV H5N1. The different bird groups of this insectivorous passeri...

Pavlas M., Vlasta Patlokov:l and J. Zajicek: Morphological Changes in Geese after Experimental and Natural Infection with Mycobacterium avium Serotype 2. Acta vet. Brno, 52, 1983: 163-167. Pathomorphological changes in two groups of 10 geese infected experimentally with Mycobacterium avium serotype 2 by either the intravenous or the oral route were localized most frequently in the liver. The re...

Colibacillosis results from infection with avian pathogenic Escherichia coli bacteria. Healthy broilers are resistant to inhaled E. coli, but previous infection with vaccine or virulent strains of Infectious Bronchitis Virus (IBV) predisposes birds for severe colibacillosis. We investigated whether IBV affects recruitment and function of phagocytic cells and examined NO production, phagocytic a...

BACKGROUND Invasive parasites are a major threat to island populations of animals. Darwin's finches of the Galápagos Islands are under attack by introduced pox virus (Poxvirus avium) and nest flies (Philornis downsi). We developed assays for parasite-specific antibody responses in Darwin's finches (Geospiza fortis), to test for relationships between adaptive immune responses to novel parasites ...

Wild birds are important to public health because they carry emerging zoonotic pathogens, either as a reservoir host or by dispersing infected arthropod vectors. In addition, bird migration provides a mechanism for the establishment of new endemic foci of disease at great distances from where an infection was acquired. Birds are central to the epidemiology of West Nile virus (WNV) because they ...