title: Diagnostic exercise: High mortality in a flock of chukar partridge chicks (Alectoris chukar) in California.
abstract: Mortality of 20% of a flock of 1000 chukar partridge chicks occurred over a 6-week period in Northern California from August to September 2012. Affected birds were 2 to 42 days old and died without premonitory clinical signs or after showing ruffled feathers and anorexia for 24 to 72 hours. Three carcasses were submitted for necropsy, 2 birds had hemorrhagic tracheitis grossly, and all 3 had lymphoplasmacytic and histiocytic myocarditis with myocardial necrosis microscopically. The differential diagnoses and the diagnostic workup to achieve a final diagnosis are discussed. The detection of 2 zoonotic agents in these birds makes this an interesting case from a public health perspective.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Eckstrand
authors.affiliation: California Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS) Laboratory System, University of California, Davis, CA, USA lwoods@cahfs.ucdavis.edu.
authors.forename: L W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Woods
authors.affiliation: California Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS) Laboratory System, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Diab
authors.affiliation: California Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS) Laboratory System, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Crossley
authors.affiliation: California Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS) Laboratory System, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Giannitti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D002140:California; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005241:Feathers; D005260:Female; D046094:Galliformes; D008297:Male; D012481:Salmonella Infections, Animal / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014901:West Nile Fever / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D014902:West Nile virus / Q000302:isolation & purification*
keywords: Alectoris chukar; Galliformes; Salmonella Typhimurium; West Nile virus; avian pathology; infectious diseases; zoonoses