Diagnostic Key Points and Treatment Methods for Chicken Intestinal Toxemia Syndrome

Due to abnormal climate changes, the temperature difference between day and night varies greatly, and broiler and layer chickens often develop intestinal toxemia syndrome characterized by diarrhea, undigested feed in the feces, a significant drop in feed intake, slow growth, weight loss, dehydration and a decline in feed conversion efficiency.

I. Clinical symptoms

The flock is still in fairly good spirits, but grows slowly, and the combs are pale. Some diseased chickens pass white strip-like or mucus-like feces containing undigested feed, and the feces are slightly yellow. A few chickens show listlessness, head retraction, head tremor, running about restlessly and easy startling, and then become paralyzed. The incidence rate in the flock is about 1%, cull chickens appear every day, and the mortality rate is 0.5%.

II. Necropsy changes

There is brain fluid in the head, the thymus is reddened in some cases, the duodenum is swollen, and the intestinal wall is thickened; when touched by hand, the intestinal wall feels very hard, there is no feed in the intestinal lumen, a large amount of intestinal mucosa sloughs off, and some intestinal segments contain foamy material and tomato-like feces; the intestinal wall is everted, the intestinal mucosa is rough and has purulent secretions; the gallbladder becomes smaller and pale yellow, looking as if there were no gallbladder at all.

III. Pathogenesis and harm

This disease is caused by a chicken coccidium parasitizing the mucosal cells of the intestinal tract, and it is often caused by mixed infection with some viral and bacterial diseases, making the intestinal tract inflamed and swollen, thickening the intestinal wall and causing massive disintegration of epithelial cells, which leads to a decline in the secretory and absorptive functions of the intestinal tract, so that some chickens show nutritional deficiency, reduced feed conversion, slowed growth, etc.; the toxic substances produced after the disintegration of epithelial cells accumulate in the intestinal tract and cause autointoxication, manifested as listlessness, coma, paralysis, head tremor and other symptoms. Due to the massive multiplication of coccidia and bacteria, the intestinal mucosal cells are rapidly destroyed, leading to indigestion and impaired absorption of various nutrients.

IV. Prevention and control measures

1. Isolate diseased chickens, cull residual chickens, remove litter and disinfect thoroughly.

2. Give the flock "Qiujing" in drinking water every day, 50 g per 100 kg of water, mixed with 50 g of "ribavirin" for drinking, twice a day, and provide electrolytes in the drinking water at noon, for 3 to 5 consecutive days; after the condition improves, use "Subu" in the drinking water for 2 days so that the flock regains good spirits.

3. Keep the chicken house clean and hygienic, avoid dampness, prevent the occurrence of colibacillosis and coccidiosis, and deworm regularly.

4. When diarrhea is found, do not mistakenly regard it as enteritis and simply use drugs for treating enteritis, so as to avoid intestinal flora imbalance and damage to the intestinal mucosa.

5. Regularly use disinfectants for disinfection with chickens present or regularly mix disinfectants into the sand.