Darrell W. Trampel, Faculty, Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine
Situation:
Iowa is the No. 1 egg producing state in America with over 55 million laying hens. The egg industry continues to grow in this state and Hy-Line International is the worlds largest source of genetics for egg-type chickens. Iowa produces approximately 8.0 million turkeys per year. A significant broiler industry is centered around Agri-Processors in Postville, IA which is a kosher processing plant. Iowa has the one of the nations largest producer of quail eggs and chicks and this countrys largest producer of Hungarian partridge.
A certain degree of mortality is associated with commercial production of poultry. For example, livability of turkeys between placement in the brooder house as poults and marketing at 18 weeks is approximately 90%. In addition to diseases that cause mortality, other subclinical disease conditions exist that do not kill the birds but reduce the rate of gain and feed efficiency of a flock.
Objective:
A major part of the job responsibilities of the ISU extension poultry veterinarian is to provide diagnostic assistance to Iowas commercial poultry producers, gamebird producers, and owners of small-scale or hobby flocks. In addition, Dr. Trampel serves as the co-oordinator of three state-wide poultry disease surveillance programs: a) Avian Influenza in turkey and chicken flocks; b) Salmonella enteritidis monitoring of commercial egg-type chicken flocks; and c) Avian pneumovirus monitoring of commercial turkey flocks.
Activities/Output:
The poultry diagnostic cases from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2006 are listed below.
Diagnostic Cases (January 1, 2006 - December 31, 2006).
Report Name Total Accessions
Anticoagulant Panel 2
Avian influenza AGID 191
Avian influenza AGID - 1 1086
Avian influenza AGID - EY 47
Avian Influenza ELISA 30
Avian Pneumovirus ELISA 618
Avian Pneumovirus IFA (NVSL) 36
Bacterial ID Extended 11
Bacterial ID Short 38
Clostridium FA 1
Comments 65
Culture Saved 13
Culture Summary 1
Egg Culture - Negative 4
Egg Culture - Suspicious 1
Hematoxylin and Eosin Slides 148
Immunohistochemistry West Nile Virus (WNV) 1
Necropsy (juvenile - adult) 91
Necropsy (neonate - fetus) 25
PCR - Avian influenza virus 67
Poultry - Salmonella Enviromental Negative 240
Poultry - Salmonella Enviromental Positive 209
Poultry - Salmonella Enviromental Suspicious 232
Poultry Susceptibility 48
Poultry Susceptibility 3
PRRS virus ELISA 1
Pullorum-typhoid AGG 2
Pullorum-typhoid AGG (NVSL) 1
Referral (NVSL) 1
Rotavirus AgELISA 6
Routine Culture 72
Routine Culture 78
Salmonella Id 19
Salmonella Identification (NVSL) 207
Serogrouping Lancefield & Salmonella 1
Slant Request 5
Special Stains Immunohistochemistry 1
Tetra enrichment 49
3,651
Avian species for which necropsy, histopathology, or both were performed.
Egg-type Chickens (Layers) 115
Meat-type Chickens (Broilers) 30
Turkeys 16
Quail 6
Pigeons 5
Pheasants 2
Peafowl 2
Partridge 2
Guinea fowl 1
Osprey 1
Total 180
Impact/Outcomes:
This work provides vital support for Iowas poultry and gamebird industries in general as well as for specific companies, such as Hy-Line International. Poultry producers receive individual attention and the most rapid diagnoses that science will allow. A rapid diagnosis permits early intervention via vaccination, antibiotic therapy, or management changes which greatly reduce the morbidity and mortality in affected flocks. In addition to protecting bird health, monitoring programs for avian influenza and Salmonella enteritidis are potential zoonotic diseases and ongoing surveillance programs are important for protecting public health.
June 28, 2007
180 - Other ANR Programs
Page last updated:
August 2, 2007
Page maintained by Linda Schultz, lschultz@iastate.edu
