Iraqi Journal of Veterinary Sciences

Abstract

The present study was carried out to evaluate the pathological effects of aspergillosis caused by Aspergillus Spp. in commercial broiler chickens. In this study, we discussed few outbreaks of Aspergillus infection of chicks a week aftter hatching in broiler farms of Duhok-Kurdistan region of Iraq during the period from February to May 2015 on the basis of clinical signs, post-mortem, histopathological and cultural findings. The main clinical signs of the disease in the infected flock included a 3-day onset of labored breathing and neurologic disorders displayed by incoordination, torticollis, and paralysis. Other clinical features included depression, ruffled feathers and gasping. Gross lesions were represented by cheesy granular materials in the air sacs, lungs, and trachea. Histopathology revealed fungal hyphae in sectioned lung tissue. Aspergillus was isolated by culturing in Sabouraud’s dextrose agar from the lesions. The present study deals with the incidence of acute aspergillosis in broiler chicks from Duhok, Kurdistan-Iraq.