Paratyphoid

Mid October began the yearly period of Paratyphoid. This season a bit earlier than other years and I don’t know why. The weather was during a longer period than normal nice and pleasant.
At the moment that the pigeons moult the sixt or seventh feather we quite often see that the disease comes to a break out, most of the times at the stock/breeding loft, but also outstanding racers can be amongst the victims of this disease.
Typical signs for example are limping and flying oblique (infected joints). The wing has 4 joints and the leg at least 3 joints where one can find the signs of the disease. Furthermore the pigeon can emaciate, is showing old down, the colour of the breast is blue and scaly. The droppings are green and slimy.

The best way to make a diagnosis is to do it clinical and is quite easy in case of a combination of the above mentioned symptoms. It is characteristic that one can find often a ‘’blood’’feather at infected pigeons. Most of the times the seventh or eighth feather or in the tail. Sometimes, but very rare we find a pigeon with at one side a s.c. Panophtalmie: an infection of the eye with the pupil coloured yellow-white. Many times the diagnosis with use of samples of the droppings and/or blood shows a mistake, so we prefer the clinical diagnosis, but this is only possible if one have seen many infected pigeons.
The treatment of salmonella is still as problematic as 30 years ago. The new medicines are not better than the old ones and vaccination sometimes causes out-breaks, however the ‘’live’’vaccins seems to be better then the ‘’dead’’ ones. Paratyphoid is not caused and present by/in your loft but only in your pigeons.

It is quite simple to disinfect the loft but if you place back the infected and suspicious birds the disinfection was a waist of time. It is a must, if worthful to separate these pigeons immediately and treat them with the right course for a long time. If possible one has to ask for a sensitivity test to get a confirmation of the infection in spite we don’t have many possibilities due to the lack of medicines.
The course for the the pigeons which were at the same loft as the infected birds has to be followed at least during 14 days consecutive. The therapy is not for 100% sure curing the pigeon but neither is a vaccination.

In case of pox-(diphtheria) and paramyxo one has to vaccinate immediately which is not recommend in case of paratyphoid. We have the opinion that vaccination in case of paratyphoid is a professional mistake. Clinical sick pigeons can be cured and become 100% healthy, but nobody can say so before. Affected joints can fully recover, even after two months. With ace-pigeons you can breed even if they can not fly one meter high.
Most importat is that the pigeons are back at normal weight and condition with a fall of downs (always the best indicator of a good condition) and a normal stool. Joints are often damaged in spite the pigeon is cured of the disease. During 30 years I judged pigeons which suffered of paratyphoid in the past but were fully recovered but not able to fly one meter. They bred and raised fully normal youngsters.

Paratyphoid is a relative ‘’small’’ but persistent disease what means that never the complete population at the loft is infected. It is limited to a few pigeons if one takes immediate measures. Most of the times you will lose one or a few pigeons which can not be saved due that they don’t react in the right way to the treatments. Salmonella/ paratyphoid during the breeding season has a clinical different view. About this we inform you next time.

Dr. H.J.M. de Weerd

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