INFECTIOUS DISEASES OF CARRIER PIGEONS AND ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE IN ISOLATED BACTERIA

František Zigo; Ladislav Tak�č; Martina Chripkov�; Martin Tomko; Jana Tak�čov�; Denisa Toropilov�

Volume : V, Issue : I, January - 2016

INFECTIOUS DISEASES OF CARRIER PIGEONS AND ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE IN ISOLATED BACTERIA

Franti Ek Zigo, Ladislav Tak , Martina Chripkov , Martin Tomko, Jana Tak Ov , Denisa Toropilov

Abstract :

The aim of this study was to monitor the health status of carrier pigeons (Columba livia) coming from two independent holdings during the race season. The two holdings differ in the way the prevention and treatment was carried out. In the A holding – the treatment and prevention was based on the use of antibiotics, while in the B holding – natural medicine agents in the form of extracts were used. Faecal samples and swabs of the cloaca, oropharynx and crop were collected from 80 pigeons from each holding. After laboratory anlyses of infectious agents, followed by testing with the disc diffusion method for resistance to selected 13 antibiotics. High level of drug–resistance (R ≥50.0% ) of bacterial strains E. coli and E. columbae to ampicillin isolated of cloacal, oropharynx and crop swabs were recorded in both holdings. In both, holding A and B, incidence of – coccidiosis was 20 and 32.5 % respectively, trichomoniasis 7.5 and 14.4% respectively, endoparasitosis 4.8 and 8.8% respectively, ectoparasitosis 6.3 and 10 % respectively and the incidence of infectious causing respiratory syndrome was 2.5 and 6.6% respectively