Day 089 - 15 Feb 95 - Page 52
1 but, nevertheless, we do in most flocks see some ascites.
2
3 Q. Is this a problem that is confined to broiler chickens, do
4 you know?
5 A. This occurs only in broiler chickens.
6
7 Q. What other diseases have you found to be an underlying
8 cause of death in transit?
9 A. The most common condition in broiler chickens is a
10 condition of septicemia caused by an organism called
11 E.coli.
12
13 Q. Pause there. Do you know which variety or sub-specific
14 E.coli that is?
15 A. The types of E.coli which occur in chickens are mostly
16 type 78 and type 80.
17
18 Q. Not 0157: H7?
19 A. We do not see that in chickens.
20
21 Q. Very well. Continue, please.
22 A. The E.coli organism can cause septicemia which may
23 cause death of the bird, but it also may cause poor
24 health. If the bird is suffering this condition it may die
25 during transport. So, that is another common cause.
26
27 Q. What measures may be taken to treat or prevent the onset of
28 that particular condition?
29 A. It is a multifactorial condition. It can relate to,
30 usually relates to the occurrence of a virus infection
31 which predisposes the birds to the bacterial E.coli
32 disease, and we use live respiratory vaccines to reduce the
33 incidence of this condition. You also have to look at the
34 whole environment, reduction of dust and ammonia and so on
35 in the poultry house to minimise the occurrence of the
36 condition.
37
38 Q. Are there any other pathological conditions or preexisting
39 pathological conditions which may induce death in transit?
40 A. I think there are no real -- the birds, obviously, can
41 die purely from a heart attack with no other apparent
42 predisposing condition. Obviously, you would see more of
43 these in hot weather.
44
45 Q. Is it true of birds (as it is of humans) that some are more
46 prone to having coronary heart disease than others?
47 A. Yes, I think it probably is, although we probably do
48 not know nearly as much about it in birds as we do in
49 humans.
50
51 Q. What proportion of birds, in your view, roughly speaking
52 again -- I mean, you can say very few, quite a lot, an
53 awful lot, or whatever suits your answer -- dead on arrival
54 would appear to you to have died as a consequence of
55 inappropriate handling?
56 A. There are a proportion (and I am not sure that we
57 really know exactly what the proportion is), but there a
58 small proportion which will have injuries related
59 specifically to handling. We have already described what
60 these could be -----
