Diagnostic Techniques and Treatment Methods for Gosling Plague
Gosling plague is a relatively common and highly contagious infectious disease among goslings. It is a fairly acute infectious disease, transmitted through the droppings of sick geese, as well as the water they have drunk, the feed they have eaten, and the sites they have visited. Below, the editor will give you a detailed introduction to gosling plague. So what exactly is gosling plague? Let's take a look together with the editor.
How to treat gosling plague
1. Epidemiological diagnosis. The disease mainly occurs in goslings within 20 days of age, with a morbidity and mortality rate of 90%-100%, and the younger the age at onset, the higher the mortality rate. In recent years, cases of geese over 1 month of age developing the disease have increased. Sick geese, infected flocks, and adult geese with latent infection are the main sources of infection for this disease. Gosling plague is prevalent in various parts of China. The epidemic season in East China is from December to July of the following year, in the Northeast and Northwest regions it is from April to July, and in the Southwest region it is from November to June of the following year.
2. Treatment: After gosling plague is confirmed, goslings that have not yet shown symptoms should immediately be isolated from the rearing site and raised in a clean, uncontaminated location, with each bird receiving a subcutaneous injection of 0.5-0.8 ml of high-titer goose plague-specific antibody. Sick goslings should be urgently injected with goose plague-specific antibody: for small goslings (10 days of age or weighing 150 g or less), inject 0.8-1 ml subcutaneously in the chest; for larger geese (over 10 days of age or weighing more than 150 g), inject 1-1.5 ml. One needle per goose should be used during injection, and staff should change clothes and shoes when entering and leaving each group to avoid cross-infection. Antiviral drugs for poultry can also be added to the feed or drinking water.
Diagnostic techniques for gosling plague
1. Gosling plague is an acute, septic infectious disease of goslings caused by a virus and transmitted through the digestive tract, mostly occurring in goslings around 20 days after hatching.
2. Gosling plague is mainly spread through drifted eggs and goslings from epidemic areas, so drifted eggs, goslings, and the equipment used must be strictly cleaned and disinfected. The introduction of drifted eggs and goslings from epidemic areas must be strictly controlled. Breeding eggs purchased locally should be fumigated and disinfected with formalin, and the tools and buildings used for hatching and brooding should be thoroughly disinfected before use. Newly hatched goslings should not come into contact with newly introduced breeding eggs or adult geese.
3. Injecting goslings with anti-gosling-plague serum for immunization is a key measure for preventing and controlling this disease. For goslings 1-2 days after hatching, inject 0.5 ml subcutaneously per bird, with a protection rate of about 95%; for goslings that have already developed the disease, inject 0.5-1 ml per bird, with a cure rate of 85%; for emergency prevention in sick goslings, inject 0.5 ml per bird, with a protection rate of 90%. It must be noted that the purchased hyperimmune serum against gosling plague should be stored in a cool, dark place at 2-15°C, and its shelf life is generally one year.
Symptoms of gosling plague
1. The incubation period is 3-5 days. According to the course of the disease, it can be divided into three types: (1) Peracute type: goslings infected within 7 days of age often show the peracute form, often dying suddenly without any visible symptoms. (2) Acute type: goslings affected before 15 days of age generally develop the acute form. Sick geese are listless, with the head drawn back and feathers ruffled, walking with difficulty, standing apart from the flock, dozing off, and then completely losing their appetite, drinking water frequently, with severe diarrhea, passing grayish-white or pale yellow-green loose droppings mixed with bubbles. A serous discharge flows from the nostrils.
2. They shake their heads, with fluid being flung from the corners of the mouth, breathe with effort, the color of the tip of the beak darkens, and the crop contains a large amount of gas or fluid; some sick goslings show neurological symptoms before death, with the neck twisted, generalized convulsions, and paralysis of both legs, dying of exhaustion within 1-2 days. (3) Subacute type: goslings over 15 days of age show the subacute form, with listlessness, emaciation, and diarrhea as the main symptoms, eating little and having a long course of disease; some may recover on their own but grow poorly.
Methods for preventing gosling plague
1. Prevention should start with breeding geese. Breeding geese should receive their first immunization one month before the start of laying, that is, the vaccine is diluted 20-fold with sterile saline, and each goose is injected subcutaneously or intramuscularly with 1 ml; after an interval of 7-10 days, a second immunization is carried out, with the vaccine diluted 10-fold, and each goose is injected subcutaneously or intramuscularly with 1 ml. This enables the breeding geese to produce immune antibodies, and only then can the hatched goslings develop immunity.
2. Preventive measures for hatcheries. The hatching equipment, all tools, and the interior and floor of the hatchery should be disinfected regularly, especially in areas where gosling plague is prevalent, hatcheries should pay attention to disinfection.
The editor believes that when goslings contract gosling plague, it is just like a person contracting some kind of infectious disease, and it should be treated promptly. When gosling plague is confirmed to have occurred on a goose farm, emergency measures should be taken; otherwise, after the virus spreads mutually, it will be very difficult to control the disease. So prevention is very important.