Spirochetosis

[allen wranch]

Anyone had any experience with spirochetosis ?

 

[dlhunicorn]

I have the following info for you ... it is also known by another name which might be mentioned in one of the articles below...cant recall it at the moment but I will look it up later and post it):
CHRONIC BROWN/WATERY DROPPINGS:
AVIAN INTESTINAL SPIROCHATOSIS
http://www.octagon-services.co.uk/articles/poultry/AIS.htm
EXCERPT:
causes chronic brown watery droppings...previous studies have shown that 70% of flocks have spirochaetes but only 30% have pathogenic or disease-causing strains."
http://www.octagon-services.co.uk/poultryposters/WVPA2005.htm
excerpt:
B.pilosicoli is potentially a serious chronic pathogen...faecl contact is the major factor in the spread of the infection...studies show that tiamulin is particularly effectivce as treatment .
http://www.bioagrimix.com/haccp/html/tiamulin.htm
Info on TIAMULIN
http://www.wattnet.com/Library/ViewLib.cfm?PG=1&ST=0&libNum=1100
(MORE ON TREATMENT Spirochaetes)
Both the tiamulin and lincomycin treatments were effective in removing the BP infection, while untreated infected birds remained infected. The use of zinc bacitracin in flocks with avian intestinal spirachaetosis (AIS) caused by BP should be avoided. However, if the infection is caused by B. intermedia, zinc bacitracin is effective in reducing colonization. This emphasizes the importance of differential diagnosis between the two species of spirochaetes in flocks with AIS.
http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8&fr=slv8-msgr&p=zink Bacitracin veterinary

http://www.rirdc.gov.au/comp02/eggs1.html#UMU-23J
(excerpt)
"This project has improved the Australian capacity to rapidly identify and type intestinal spirochaetes from chickens. It has demonstrated that strains of the various spirochaete species vary in their susceptibility to antimicrobials, but in general there is little antimicrobial resistance present. Care should be taken with the use of zinc bacitracin, as it may predispose chickens to infections with B. pilosicoli. Both tiamulin and lincomycin are effective in treating intestinal spirochaete infections, but addition of dietary enzyme with xylanase activity also can reduce colonisation with B. intermedia."

 

[allen wranch]

Thanks, Diana...

I knew I could depend on you to find the most information. I learned more than I found out from my research.

This is what the Merck Vet Manual says about treatment.

Several antibacterial agents are effective. The most widely used are penicillin derivatives, but the streptomycins, tetracyclines, and tylosin are also effective. The antibiotics can be completely efficacious if begun when the number of spirochetes per oil-immersion field is low or moderate; however, if large numbers of spirochetes are present in the bloodstream, the sudden liberation of large quantities of spirochetal degradation products can result in higher mortality than no treatment.

What worries me the most is the treament possibly killing the birds. The fecal showed a large number spirochetes. The vet said there is normally some in the fecals, but mine had a lot. My vet has good intentions and helps me out a lot, but he is not an avian vet.

I really don't know what to do now...​

 

[Pine Grove]

Other names, Spirochetosis anseina, S.gallinarum, S.anatis and Treponema serenum. In order to control Spirochetosis you have to control fowl ticks and mites, as they are carriers, penicillin is the preferred treatment

 

[ivan3]

This is a research paper from the `40's `Fowl S.'

Apologies if you already have it.

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=385494

 

[allen wranch]

Thanks everyone.

I have the right the stuff to treat it now, I am just hesitant because of the harm I may do if the spirochete count is too high for the drugs to be safely effective.

 

[dlhunicorn]

hi Carla ... the other "name" for the condition is brachyspiras... here below more info for you. In the reading I have done all are agreed that reinfection after treatment (irregardless of the med used) is the main problem in management of the condition in an infected flock...(so you will have to figure this in with your treatment of it) ....



http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/868/controlling-brachyspiras-in-layers

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/artic...spirochaetosis-in-layers-spirochaete-survival
Avian Intestinal Spirochaetosis in Layers - Spirochaete Survival
Historically, there have been reports of laying flocks with increased levels of soft brown to frothy liquid caecal droppings, not achieving their peak-laying potential and then underperforming for the rest of the laying period.

After the major infectious culprits have been ruled out, eg viruses, mycoplasmas and, in the case of free-range hens, worms and coccidiosis, attention must turn to other potential causes. Spirochaetes (microscopic spiral-shaped bacteria) have been commonly found in the caeca and droppings of hens but their significance was difficult to determine as they could also be found in birds exhibiting normal production.

The breakthrough occurred in the late nineties when researchers were able to distinguish between the different Brachyspira species and the effects they had on layer production. Brachyspira innocens, as its name suggests, is not associated with disease and is commonly found in the hen. Brachyspira pilosicoli and B. intermedia, are considered pathogenic (disease causing) and can cause depression of egg production of 5-6% and 10-12% respectively. They can also cause poor hen bodyweight and increased mortality if left untreated.

In surveys, the pathogenic spirochaetes have been found in about 30% of laying flocks, but recently in a small survey of UK free-range flocks, they were found in 70% of flocks with poor performance, often compounded with other infectious agents. Differential diagnosis is critical and can be quite difficult. Brachyspira grow slowly and faecal culture and biochemical typing takes about 10-14 days to get a result. There is a rapid PCR test for pigs, which looks for the different bacterial DNAs, which is carried out in SAC Edinburgh, but this has not been adapted to a poultry-specific test yet, due to procedural difficulties. Urgent work is required here, as the test only takes 24 hours.

Usually, control has been with medication, in particular tiamulin, which is specifically used for spirochaetes in pigs but also approved for use against mycoplasmas in poultry and, fortunately, has a zero withdrawal period for eggs. Since the regular use of chlortetracycline in feed for layers has stopped, it has been reported that there may be a higher incidence of spirochaetosis cases, so it suggests that chlortetracycline also has some preventive activity. Hygiene is also critical to its control. In cage sheds, thorough cleaning and disinfection between flocks is very effective in reducing the incidence. The difficulty comes in free-range flocks on fixed paddocks. Both B. intermedia and B. pilosicoli are meant to survive in faeces for only upto 3.5 days (Phillips and others, 2003), even in cold weather (see Graph 1), however re-infection usually occurs 3-4 weeks after treatment and we are currently investigating solutions to this problem. Paddock management is very important, e.g. to eliminate puddles/damp patches etc but more work is required in this area. Wild birds, rodents and flies may also be sources of reinfection.

Pathogenic spirochaetes appear to be widespread in the UK layer population and particularly in free-range flocks, where biosecurity is difficult. There is effective treatment available but further work is required to improve our diagnostic capabilities, our knowledge of the pathogenesis of the disease, the organism's survivability and paddock management to improve its detection and control.

References:
Phillips, N.D., La, T. and Hampson, D.J. (2003) Survival of intestinal spirochaete strains from chickens in the presence of disinfectants and in faeces held at different temperatures. Avian Pathology 32, 6, 639-643

http://www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/EGGS/02-087sum.html
including some case studies which has some interesting info

...it also appears (potentially) zoonotic so you might want to run tests on your dogs etc....
http://jmm.sgmjournals.org/cgi/content/full/52/4/361
(excerpt)
...."Evidence for the zoonotic spread of B. pilosicoli remains equivocal. There are a few examples where the same or very similar strains of the spirochaete have been found in humans and dogs living in the same environment (Koopman et al., 1993; Rayment et al., 1997; Trott et al., 1998). There is experimental evidence that B. pilosicoli can be transmitted between animal species, and human strains of B. pilosicoli have been used to experimentally infect pigs (Trott et al., 1996a), mice (Sacco et al., 1997) and day-old chicks (Dwars et al., 1992; Trott et al., 1995; Muniappa et al., 1996). Recently, we reported the infection of adult layer and breeder chickens with strains of B. pilosicoli isolated from chickens (Jamshidi & Hampson, 2002; Stephens & Hampson, 2002a). In the current study, we report the successful colonization of layer hens with a strain of B. pilosicoli isolated from an HIV-infected patient with diarrhoea (Mikosza et al., 2001). ...."