Marek's Update Request

[ewesfullchicks]

Momo posted earlier about problems with Marek's disease in a newly acquired flock.

I too have a similar problem, and wanted an update on the fate of the flock.

I've been losing on average one a day for the past week. It's a huge flock, so I really do NOT want to cull all of them.

Will it run it's course, leaving only the resistant ones?

I'm planning on buying replacement chicks, and raising them completely separately and NEVER combining them.

Please repost Momo and let us know what happened.

Many thanks.

 

[chickenzoo]

Join the featherfanciers.com and go to dieases and cures. There is some good info on Mareks. You need to start to Vacc. all your birds now, all ages. Mareks is shead through feather dander, keep all sick chickens in one location and cover it with a sheet or something to prevent the dander from flying. Vacc may not keep all symtoms from showing but will stop most of the "cancer" part of the diease, if I'm correct in memory. Research has shown that vacc of sick birds may do them some good. Start intenstive supportive care, w/vitamins, etc. tub feed if nessecary. What ever birdsget t diease will be carriers but if th rest of th flock is vacc. you could be o.k., Wait here it is:

Actually they are one in the same. Range Paralysis is an older term that was used before it was understood exactly what caused this disease. Birds that were ranged on open range and became lame were said to have Range Paralysis. Today the modern term for this disease is Mareks Disease. Mareks,was first described in 1907 by Dr. Marek who was a Hungarian researcher. Thus the name Mareks disease.
So,just what is Mareks Disease ? It is a highly contaigous Avian Herpes Virus that is highly Cell Associated. This means that the Virus must be inside a Cell of the bird in order to spread. Mareks Disease must be differentiated between Avian Leukosis Complex,which is made up of three separate diseases. Those Diseases are,Mareks Disease,Lymphoid Leukosis and Reticuloendotheliosis Virus. The last two diseases are caused by Retroviruses and Reticuloendotheliosis Virus is rare in Poultry. What Mareks Disease really boils down to is Chicken Cancer. It is a virus that causes skin lesions as well as lesions of the Visceral ( gut ) organs. It is a Tumor forming Virus.

How does Mareks Disease spread ? The mechanism by which Mareks Disease spreads from bird to bird is quite complicated. So,I will tell you that it spreads through the infected birds feather follicles and is in the dander that comes from the birds feathers. The spread to other tissues in the birds body can onlty take place through the blood stream. The virus must infect white blood cells and travel about inside them in order to infect other tissues. The Mareks Disease virus is related to the Epstein-Barr virus that causes Hodgkins disease in humans. However the Mareks Disease virus poses no threat as it is incapable of growing in mammalian cells.

So what organs are affected by the Mareks Virus ? Generally the virus will attack the nervous systemas well as other body organs such as the eye. You may see a crippiling of the birds or a discoloration of the iris in the eye. The virulence ( strength ) of the particular virus affecting your birds will usually determine the severity of the disease. The discoloration in the iris of the eye has led to the term Gray Eye. You may only see a reddening of the tissue around the feather follicle,this tissue may be raised around the base of the feather shaft and is generally called skin Leukosis but it is actually caused by Mareks Disease. The spread of the virus to the periphial nerves usually results in the enlargement of the nerves which will eventually lead to paralysis of the affected limb or organ. The spread of the virus to the birds eye may result in blindness as well as depigmentation of the iris of the eye.

Can older birds be vaccinated for Mareks Disease ? The answer to this question is ,yes. The age of the bird really does not matter as long as the bird has not been exposed to the Mareks Virus prior to vaccination. If a bird that has not been vaccinated for Mareks Disease comes down with the obvious symptoms of Mareks it may be of value to vaccinate anyway. There is some research to show that some birds may recover after vaccination. This would possibly work on birds whether or not they were vaccinated before. Some research has suggested that re-vaccination 4 to 6 weeks after the initial vaccination was of value in preventing new cases of Mareks disease in high risk areas. It is important to keep in mind that birds that have been infected are shedding this virus at a very heavy rate from their follicles and it would be of value to keep feathers about your coop cleaned up. Regular spraying with oxine will go a long way in keeping this disease as well as other diseases under control. Concerning the use of bleach as a disinfectant: go ahead and use it if you so desire but be aware that to my knowledge there are no studies to show the effectiveness of bleach against any disease organism. Oxine has reams of test data against a wide range of Pathogens and is designed to be used specifically for disinfection purposes. Consider this: during the anthrax scare of a few years ago, The Hart Senate Office Building in Washington,D.C. was heavily contaminated with Anthrax. The disinfectant of choice

( although it was used in its Gaseous Form ) was Oxine. I don’t recall them using bleach as an alternative. Remember that you get what you pay for . My Dad once told me that if you want good clean quality Oats that they come at a price,and that if you want the Oats after they come through the horse they come a bit cheaper. Nuf said.

I thought it would be of value to walk you through the Mareks Disease infection from start to finish from the birds perspective. This way you might get a better understanding of just what is going on during an active outbreak of the disease. Infection usually takes place as the birds inhale the Mareks Virus and it sets up shop in the respiratory system. Witnin five days the Mareks Virus will invade White blood Cells in the Respiratory System and be carried to the Spleen,Bursa and the Thymus. The Virus likes to grow in White Blood Cells and starts growing in B-cells and starts to infect and kill off B-cells in the Spleen,Bursa and the Thymus. The Mareks virus is now killing so many B-cells that the Immune System begins to react to the Virus Infection. Many T-cells are generated by the Immune response. These activated T-cells can be susceptible to a latent infection by the Mareks Virus. These infected T-cells may eventually become active Mareks Disease Tumor Cells. The Immune System mounts a measurable Antibody response but a temporary Immune Suppression also occurs as well. Keep in mind that all of this is taking place in a very short period of time. Usually within one weeks time. The Virus now spreads throughout the blood stream through the infected White Blood Cells. The Mareks Virus will spread to various other organs at this time as well as the feather follicle epithelial ( surface ) cells where the Virus will divide and form cell free extremely infectious Virus Particles. The birds then shed the Virus from their bodies in the form of dander. This dander is highly infective and when susceptible birds breathe in the Virus particles contained in the dander,infection will take place as earlier described. Within two weeks post infection a permanent Immune Suppression takes place that affects both the B-cells and the T-cells. Approximately five weeks after infection takes place the Mareks Virus has sufficiently infiltrated vital organs and nerves that paralysis soon occurs. Birds may become listless and show a paralysis of one wing or drag a leg behind them. Some birds may only show a weakness of the legs or both wings. Starting at about six weeks post infection birds will start to form Tumors due to the infected T-cells starting to multiply and are now transformed into Cancer Cells. They are also responsible for Atherosclerosis or Hardening of the Arteries. Tumors may affect any of the organs of the body and the degree of Tumor formation will depend upon the Virulence ( Strength ) of the infecting Virus.

Vaccinating for Mareks with the Mareks vaccine : Vaccination should take place as close to one day of age if at all possible,but may be done at any age as earlier discussed. Mareks vaccine is unique in that it does not stop a bird from becoming infected with the virus,but it stops the formation of the Tumors that are caused by the Mareks virus. Birds that are newly vaccinated should not be exposed to adult birds for at least fourteen days to allow the vaccine to take hold. The vaccine comes as a two part vaccine. One bottle contains a small freeze dried wafer which is the actual vaccine. This is a Live Virus vaccine and can not be saved once it is mixed. Once mixed the life of the vaccine is approximately two to two and one half hours. The second part of the vaccine is a bottle of diluent which is 200 cc/ml of extender. It is not just water but a broth so to speak of special growth media for the Vaccine Virus to survive on during mixing and vaccination. I would suggest to you that you split the vaccine into four equal parts so that you may get four uses out of one bottle of vaccine. Cut the small vaccine wafer into quarters as best as you can.Use care not to contaminate the Mareks Diluent. Never actually open the bottle but use a clean needle and work through the rubber stopper and draw what you need from that. Always check the Diluent bottle for contamination before using: cloudiness or something growing in the bottle. If the Diluent is contaminated or you are unsure discard the bottle and get a fresh bottle of Diluent before proceeding. Take the large Diluent bottle and transfer 50 cc/ml into a clean baby food jar or similar glass bottle. This bottle must be glass. Now take the 1/4 vaccine wafer and mix with the 50 cc/ml of Diluent in the baby food jar and you are ready to vaccinate. Remember to immediately put the remaining Diluent and the small bottle of Vaccine back in the refrigerator. You are now ready to administer the Vaccine. The dose is .2 cc 2/10 cc under the skin of the neck of each bird.Remember to keep track of time so that you don’t use Vaccine that is to old. Putting the mixed vaccine bottle in an ice bath will have some value in preserving the life of the mixed vaccine.

MIXED VACCINE CAN NOT BE SAVED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES EVEN IF YOU FREEZE IT.

 

[Momo]

Hi, ewesfullchicks. Sorry to hear you've got Marek's running through your flock. It isn't fun; however, it's been a real learning experience for me. Chickenzoo has posted a lot of good info from the featherfanciers vet. That vet told me I was poorly informed if I thought I should be depopulating my farm to stop the virus.

I also spoke with a poultry veterinarian in Abbotsford (BC), and he also suggested I was nuts to consider drastic measures. He told me that Marek's is truly endemic in most if not all flocks, even the small back yard ones, and suggested that all chicks should be vaccinated for it in order to avoid losses.

So, I'm happy to say, I still have my chickies.

I've learned that there are several strains of Marek's and some are more virulent than others. Some people routinely vaccinate. Others keep turkeys with their chickens because the turkeys apparently carry their own strain of herpes virus that doesn't harm chickens but does confer immunity to Marek's (kind of like the way exposure to cow pox makes you immune to smallpox). Still others breed for resistance which basically means that they let the disease run its course and the survivors (or better yet, the ones who never show symptoms) are the resistant individuals whose chicks are less likely to be affected; in a few generations their flocks no longer show symptoms of Marek's.

It has been suggested that routine vaccination for Marek's has allowed the disease to spread widely (because vaccinated birds will still contract and spread the virus although they won't be symptomatic, so there's no way to tell whether a flock is infected) and has kept bird populations from developing natural resistance (because susceptible birds, protected by the vaccination, are still breeding). Some breeds have more natural immunity, and others are more susceptible.

In talking to various people, I find that many people have had Marek's appear in their flock in the past. Again, it depends on how virulent the strain is and how resistant your population is. Undoubtedly there are many flocks that have Marek's but aren't symptomatic and the owners have no idea that the virus is present on their premises.

I don't know what the right answer is. Most of my birds are doing fine. Out of 30 chickens, I lost two pullets who became withdrawn and sickly, and one pullet and five cockerels who developed progressive paralysis. I currently have 11 girls and 4 boys (a few other roos have landed in the soup pot for various infractions) and will be keeping just one rooster but I'm keeping the extra three boys for now just in case. I've had no illness show up for the last couple of weeks, and they are currently 18 weeks old.

I'd like to rehome a couple of the extra roosters if they stay healthy, and that means I just have to be sure they go to a flock that has previously been exposed or vaccinated.

I haven't been able to find a source to buy the vaccine in BC (Canada); does anyone know a supplier?

 

[chickenzoo]

I don't know if Jeffers Equine ships to Canada, but # is 1800 533-3377 You could call Fort Dodge and find out who they supply in your area.

 

[horsejody]

There is a lot of misinformation floating around the internet about Marek's disease. Your best defense is to get only vaccinated chicks and keep them separated from other birds for at least 10 days. Keep the brooder in the house, not in the coop, until the immunity has set in. Here is the link to a previous discussion.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=39918

Jody

 

[SpottedCrow]

I lost a 2+ year old Silkie/Cochin mix hen to Marek's in May. She went from limping to being unable to move anything more than her head and one wing in 8 days.

 

[Momo]

Well I spoke too soon. This morning I have a pullet with some left leg paralysis, and she's one of my favourites. Darn! It wasn't so bad when it was mostly the "extra" roos that were being affected, but breeding for resistance is a difficult ideal to maintain when the girls I like best are going down.

I called the local vets and while most of them laughed when I mentioned poultry, one can order the Marek's vaccine for me. I think I'll go ahead and vaccinate my little flock and see if it helps at this point.

 

[ewesfullchicks]

Thank you so much for the excellent advice. It was very helpful.

This is day three with no sick/dead chickens, so I'm hoping everything has "peaked".

Sorry to hear that have another ill hen Momo, just after you thought you were in the clear. I suspect that I'm just wishful thinking at the moment, but it is just so discouraging having daily chicken deaths.

However, out of more than 500 of the "new" adult chickens, I've lost a total of about ten, three of which were from owl attacks. As a percentage it's quite small (at the moment). One of my 47 Redbros also got it, but I think it was unrelated. My meat birds are several hundred feet away, and separated by a building (or two).

I have decided to have my next 500 chicks vaccinated against Marek's. I'll buy some oxine (supplier?) and spray down their brooding area, after removing all the old litter. Hopefully, if I keep them several hundred feet away from the adults, and make sure that they are not down wind, it should keep them as safe as I can.

Once again - many thanks for the posts.

 

[Momo]

I received the vaccine and the diluent on the Greyhound today. Mixed it up and vaccinated all my chickens. It was easy to do (mind you, DH and I are both paramedics, but I think just about anyone wouldn't have much trouble doing it). Wish me luck!

 

[chickenzoo]

sending good wishes your way....