''Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale'', or ORT, is a

bacterium Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among the ...

that causes

respiratory The respiratory system (also respiratory apparatus, ventilatory system) is a biological system consisting of specific organs and structures used for gas exchange in animals and plants. The anatomy and physiology that make this happen varies gr ...

disease in

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...

. It can cause disease in birds of all ages and is potentially fatal. ''O. rhinotracheale'' is found worldwide, and the bacterium may be spread between birds either horizontally or vertically. It is not a

zoonosis A zoonosis (; plural zoonoses) or zoonotic disease is an infectious disease of humans caused by a pathogen (an infectious agent, such as a virus, bacterium, parasite, fungi, or prion) that can jump from a non-human vertebrate to a human. When ...

Clinical Signs

Most commonly, respiratory signs are seen. These include nasal discharge, dyspnoea,

sneezing A sneeze (also known as sternutation) is a semi-autonomous, convulsive expulsion of air from the lungs through the nose and mouth, usually caused by foreign particles irritating the nasal mucosa. A sneeze expels air forcibly from the mouth a ...

and

coughing A cough is a sudden expulsion of air through the large breathing passages which can help clear them of fluids, irritants, foreign particles and microbes. As a protective reflex, coughing can be repetitive with the cough reflex following three ...

. A drop in growth rates and abnormal egg production and joint problems may also be seen. There are reports of gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms in some cases. Clinical signs are generally worse in meat producing birds.

Diagnosis

The disease caused by ORT is characterized by

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

, pleuritis and air sacculitis on postmortem examination. Diagnosis should be confirmed using laboratory tests such as bacterial culture, PCR, agar gel precipitation,

ELISA The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (, ) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay is a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence of ...

, or serum agglutination.

Treatment & Control

Antibiotic An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting pathogenic bacteria, bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the therapy ...

treatment can be attempted, but is not always successful. The choice of antibiotic should be based on culture and sensitivity results.

Vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...

is reported to reduce the incidence of disease.

References

External links

''Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale''
Wikivet
Type strain of ''Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
Poultry diseases Bacterial diseases Bacteria described in 1994 {{veterinary-med-stub