Tracheal mucus transport rate in normal turkeys and in turkeys infected with Bordetella avium (Alcaligenes faecalis).
Using the radiopharmaceutical 99mtechnetium-sulfur colloid, the tracheal mucus transport rate (TMTR) was measured in healthy unanesthetized turkeys and in turkeys infected with Bordetella avium. The TMTR of uninfected turkeys was 35.6 +/- 14.4 cm/min. The TMTR of B. avium-infected turkeys was normal on days 0 through 14 postexposure (PE), despite heavy bacterial colonization of the tracheal epithelium. On day 21 PE, the TMTR of B. avium-infected turkeys was significantly depressed (P less than or equal to 0.01) compared with that of control turkeys. Depressed transport was associated with extensive loss of ciliated epithelium from the tracheal mucosa and replacement of the normal mucosa by immature nonciliated epithelium or metaplastic squamous epithelium.
D000421:Alcaligenes; D000818:Animals; D001885:Bordetella Infections / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D009093:Mucus / Q000502:physiology; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D014132:Trachea / Q000502:physiology*; D014422:Turkeys / Q000502:physiology*