Disease Summary

Alternative Names (Synonyms)

• New duck disease
• Riemerella anatipestifer infection
• Pasteurella anatipestifer infection
• Moraxella anatipestifer infection
• Duck septicaemia
• Anatipestifer syndrome
• Anatipestifer septicaemia
• Infectious serositis
• Goose influenza
• Septicemia anserum exsudativa

Disease Type

Infectious/Non-Infectious Agent associated with the Disease

Infective "Taxa"

• Riemerella anatipestifer

Non-infective agents

Physical agents

References

Disease Author

Major References / Reviews

Code and Title List

Other References

Code and Title List

Detailed Clinical and Pathological Characteristics

General

Clinical Characteristics

• May die without clinical signs.
• Respiratory signs: ocular and sometimes nasal discharge (may be purulent), mild coughing and sneezing.
• Nervous signs: ataxia/incoordination, head and neck tremor, head bobbing, abnormal swimming (listing or circling), tremors, lying in dorsal recumbency (on back) with legs paddling, paralysis, convulsions, torticollis, opisthotonus, coma.
• Gastro-intestinal signs: greenish diarrhoea (may be first clinical sign).
• General signs: Listlessness, inability to move with rest of brood, inability to stand.
• Effects on survivors: Sometimes stunting, often decreased egg production in survivors.

(J5.10.w2, J5.13.w4, J5.17.w3, B10.26.w8, B11.34.w2, B11.38.w6, B11.40.w8, B14, B15, B16.18.w1, B32.6.w1, B37.x.w1, P4.1992.w1)

Incubation

Mortality / Morbidity

Pathology

• Sometimes there may be no gross pathology with acute disease (J5.10.w2).
• Major pathological finding is usually fibrinous polyserositis, also enlarged mottled spleen and scattered petechiae on serosa of abdominal viscera.
• Liver - may be enlarged; fibrinous or fibrinonecrotic perihepatitis (inflammation of serosa over the liver).
• Respiratory:
  - lungs - no gross lesions, or fibrinous bronchopneumonia
  - air sacs - fibrinous airsacculitis: thickened, with accumulation of fibrinous and sometimes partly calcified exudate.
  - sinuses - fibrinous to caseous sinusitis
  - trachea - no gross lesions, or fibrinous tracheitis (fibrinous exudate in trachea).
• Heart - oedema of tissue around coronary groove. Sometimes epicardial petechiae, fibrinous pericarditis.
• Spleen - frequently but not invariably enlarged and mottled.
• Reproductive - fibrinous salpingitis.
• Central nervous system - engorged meningeal vessels reported rarely.
• Localised skin infection (lower back or near vent): necrotic dermatitis with exudate between skin and subcutaneous fat
• Cephalic oedema, and swollen leg and foot joints have also been reported.

Histopathology:

• Fibrinous exudate on serosal surfaces with variable inflammatory cells depending on time course of infection. Bacteria usually numerous, both free in exudate and in macrophages.
• Liver - Hepatitis. Acute infection: mild periportal mononuclear leukocytic infiltration, cloudy swelling and degeneration of parenchymal cells. Later moderate periportal lymphocytic infiltration. Fibrinous exudate (perihepatitis) contains heterophils, mononuclear cells and cell debris as well as fibrin.
• Respiratory -
  - lungs - interstitial infiltration with mononuclear lymphocytes and heterophils, proliferating lymphoid nodules near parabronchi.
  - air sacs - accumulation of fibrinous exudate containing mononuclear leucocytes, cellular debris and fibrin.
  - trachea - minor changes such as submucosal congestion, mild hyperplasia of mucosal epithelium.
• Heart - pericarditis with mononuclear lymphocytes and polymorphs may also involve epicardium and extend to myocarditis, occasionally reaching the endocardium.
• Spleen - occasional lymphoid depletion, reticulo-endothelial cell hyperplasia, focal necrosis, fibrinous perisplenitis
• Central nervous system - diffuse fibrinous meningitis affecting brain and sometimes spinal cord, cerebral lesions (congestion, gliosis, perivascular infiltration with heterophils predominating initially, later mainly mononuclear cells).

(J1.10.w2, J5.10.w2, J5.13.w4, J5.17.w3, B10.26.w8, B11.40.w8, B14, B15, B16.19.w1, B32.6.w1, B36.12.w12, B37.x.w1).

Human Health Considerations

Disease has been reported in either the wild or in captivity in:

• Domestic ducks (J5.10.w2, J5.13.w4), domestic geese (J5.17.w2).
• Mallard Anas platyrhynchos in South Carolina, USA (J5.17.w3).
• Whistling (tundra) swans Cygnus columbianus (juveniles) on migration in Saskatchewan, Canada (B15).
• Captive American black ducks Anas rubripes, snow geese Anser caerulescens, white-fronted geese Anser albifrons, wood duck Aix sponsa, mandarin duck Aix galericulata (B15).
• Wild black swans Cygnus atratus in Australia; also ducklings and goslings by inoculation (J24.46.w1).
• Wild juvenile black swans Cygnus atratus, tundra swans Cygnus columbianus, lesser snow geese Anser caerulescens caerulescens (B15, B36.12.w12).
• Also diagnosed in turkeys, chickens, pheasants, quail and parrots (B14, B15, B32.6.w1, B36.12.w12).

Host Species List

• Aix galericulata - Mandarin duck
• Aix sponsa - Wood duck
• Anas rubripes - American black duck
• Anas platyrhynchos - Mallard
• Anas platyrhynchos domesticus - Domestic duck
• Anser albifrons - Greater white-fronted goose
• Anser anser domesticus - Domestic goose
• Anser caerulescens - Snow goose
• Cygnus atratus - Black swan
• Cygnus columbianus - Tundra swan

Disease has been specifically reported in Free-ranging populations of:

• Wild black swans Cygnus atratus in Australia (J24.46.w1).
• Black swans Cygnus atratus, whistling (tundra) swans Cygnus columbianus, lesser snow geese Anser caerulescens caerulescens (B15).

Host Species List

• Anser caerulescens - Snow goose
• Cygnus atratus - Black swan
• Cygnus columbianus - Tundra swan

Regions / Countries where the Infectious Agent or Disease has been recorded

Regions / Countries where the Infectious Agent or Disease has been recorded in Free-ranging populations

General Information on Investigation / Diagnosis

• Presumptive diagnosis from clinical signs and PME findings. Definitive diagnosis requires bacterial isolation and identification. Isolation is easiest during the acute stage of the disease. Heart blood, brain, liver spleen, kidney, lung and air sacs should be used for attempting isolation. Biochemical tests are required to distinguish from Pasteurella multocida.
• Immunofluorescence may be used to detect the organism in exudate or tissue.
• ELISA or (less sensitive) agglutination test may be used to detect serum antibodies.

(J6.16.w5, B11.40.w8, B14, B15, B16.19.w1, B18, B32.6.w1, B37.x.w1).

• Physical Examination - General
• Necropsy - General
• Treatment and Care - Euthanasia
• Chapter 2 - B36 Field Manual of Wildlife Diseases - Specimen Collection and Preservation
• Chapter 3 - B36 Field Manual of Wildlife Diseases - Specimen shipment
• Chapter 5 - B36 Field Manual of Wildlife Diseases - Euthanasia
• Appendix A - B36 Field Manual of Wildlife Diseases - Sample specimen history form

Similar Diseases (Differential Diagnosis)

(B10.26.w8, B14, B15, B32.6.w1, B37.x.w1)

Specific Medical Treatment

• Sulfamethazine, 0.2-0.25% in feed or in drinking water;
• Sulfaquinoxaline 0.025-0.05% in feed;
• Medicated feeds 0.0303-0.0368% novobiocin, 0.011-0.022% lincomycin.
• Sulfadimethoxine and ormetoprim, 0.02-0.12% in feed.
• Subcutaneous lincomycin, spectinomycin, penicillin, penicillin & dihydrostreptomycin.
• Enrofloxacin in drinking water at 50ppm the first day followed by 25ppm for four more days (J6.26.w2).
• Tetracyclines 37g per 15litres water for five to seven days.
• Lincomycin 10g per 15 litres water for five to seven days.
• Amoxycillin 5g per 15litres water provided on two days with one day of unmedicated water between.
• Penicillin, 50,000U/kg parenterally.

(J5.11.w4, B10.26.w8, B11.40.w8, B15, B16.18.w1, B18, B32.6.w1, P4.1992.w1).

• Treatment and Care - General

General Nursing and Surgical Techniques

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Preventative Measures

• Immunisation of female breeder ducks confers protection on ducklings.
• Live, avirulent strain may be given as an aerosol or in-drinking-water to day-old ducklings and is protective for at least 42 days.
• Oil-emulsion inactivated bacterin is also protective, and is longer lasting than simple formalin-inactivated bacterin, but may cause a local tissue reaction.
• N.B. Protection only conferred against homologous strain.

(J5.23.w2, J5.28.w2, J6.20.w3, B13.46.w1, B15, B32.6.w1).

WATERFOWL

• Preventative Medicine for Birds - General

Environmental and Population  Control Measures

WATERFOWL

• Preventative Medicine for Birds - General
• Environmental and Population Management - General
• Chapter 4 - B36 Field Manual of Wildlife Diseases - Disease Control Operations