There are a large number of pathologies that are of great concern to the keepers of hens, roosters and chickens, and without a doubt, Marek's disease is one of the most important. It is a disease caused by a virus of the herpesviridae family that has fatal consequences for these animals.
In this article on our site, we will clear up some doubts about Marek's disease in birds, as well as its symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.
What is Marek's disease in birds?
Marek's disease, also called chicken paralysis (depending on who it affects), is a viral disease, neoplastic, which is characterized by T-cell lymphomas infiltrating the organs and tissues of some birds.
Marek's disease is one of the most important pathologies in birds, as it has a high mortality rate and is highly contagious. In this sense, it is the disease that no caretaker wants to have on his farm. On the other hand, it should be noted that it usually affects hens more than chickens. To avoid this situation, every farm must comply with biosecurity and veterinary control measures to avoid it.
For more information, you can consult this other article on our site on Chicken diseases and their symptoms.
Symptoms of Marek's disease
Marek's disease presents with different signs and symptoms, depending on the clinical picture expressed by the birds. These clinical pictures will be mentioned with a brief explanation below:
Nerve symptoms of Marek's disease
You can see flaccid paralysis of the wings and/or legs and it can be unilateral or bilateral. This occurs as tumor cells invade the nervous system, with a specific affinity for the sciatic nerve.
There is also a flaccid paralysis of the neck of birds, which is most often transient. This condition is associated with the most virulent strains of the disease.
Visceral symptoms of Marek's disease
If the tumors invade the different organs that make up the animal, the liver, spleen, and proventriculus can be affected. Generally when this occurs, the most characteristic sign in birds is diarrhoea, however, such diarrhea may also be absent in a visceral picture.
Marek's disease in birds - Diagnosis
In the poultry clinic, the post-mortem diagnosis is usually performed The necropsy is essential to diagnose the lesions caused by the virus of Marek's disease, and the veterinary practitioner together with the laboratory, must know how to work together to reach an accurate diagnosis. The difficulty of the diagnosis will be determined by the type of clinical picture that the animals presented. In the case of the nervous conditions and flaccid neck, Marek's disease would undoubtedly be a presumptive diagnosis, but in the case of the visceral condition, the signs they are much less specific.
Some anatomical considerations that must be taken into account in the necropsy are:
- Atrophy of organs, such as the thymus and bursa of fabricius.
- Sciatic nerve thickening (unilateral or bilateral).
- Thickening of the proventriculus (proventriculitis).
- Swelling of the spleen (splenomegaly).
- Perifollicular nodules at the integumentary level.
At the laboratory level, samples must be received from each of the organs and the objective is not only to confirm the disease, but also also rule out any other pathology, since what is observed in the necropsy will be a reflection of what is happening on the farm.
Even so, on our site we recommend trying never to reach this point and contacting the veterinary specialist when we perceive anomalies in our pets. Only then can we avoid major consequences. To avoid both this and other possible diseases in birds, we advise you to take a look at this other article on Diseases in poultry.
How to cure Marek's disease? - Treatment
Marek's disease is really worrying, and one of the reasons is because currently there is no treatment for this pathology. There are certain biosafety standards that all farms must comply with to control and prevent the spread of Marek's disease in birds, but when it appears, there is no medication that can reverse it. Of course, in addition to bird management and biosecurity, vaccination is very important when trying to avoid disease.
Marek's Disease in Birds - Tips
If the farm has been exposed to the disease, here are some considerations to take to disinfect it before reintroducing your animals:
- The cages should be shaken with brooms to release as many particles as possible so that they can leave the facilities.
- Properly wash the walls and cages with detergents and disinfectants.
- Use water with adequate pressure to remove any residual detergent.
- Apply an environmental disinfectant and wait a reasonable time before reintroducing birds.
To provide your pet with the best care, we recommend you read this other article about The hen as a pet.
Is Marek's disease contagious to humans?
This question is very frequent and it is normal for many people to ask it. Over time, we have learned a little more about zoonoses, and we know that there are diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans. Fortunately, not so in this case
The virus that causes Marek's disease, although it can enter our body, it is impossible to replicate in primates, therefore, the disease cannot develop in humans.
If you have birds at home and this matter worries you, we show you this other article on our site about 13 diseases that birds transmit to humans.
