Well that's what I thought... I was just trying to understand how a bird could be in the "advanced stages" without a secondary infection, because all of the necropsy reports I have seen have had serious secondary infections, like septicemia and systemic fungal "insert fungus here" infections. Has anyone ever seen a necropsy report that listed just blackhead and not a secondary infection? Maybe that's what I should have asked...It is not quite that simple. The parasite that causes blackhead can infect many parts of poultry. The infection causes various degrees of damage which become infected. Here is a simplified example. Think of it like having a parasite that starts eating your skin. The process of eating your skin does not kill you unless a lot of skin gets eaten. It is much more likely that you get an infection in the area from the open wound that causes death or secondary damage to your system. The batter you treat the infections, the more skin you can lose before you die. The same is true internally in peafowl. The ceca and the liver are the primary targets. As they are damaged they is a much greater risk of infection from the damage than death from the damage. If you can fight those infections, it gives you time to kill the parasite.
Or am I missing something here? Just trying to learn ;-)
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