A Pictorial Guidebook on Poultry Diseases; Diagnostic Techniques and their Effective Treatment

Abstract

The poultry industry has gained significance all over the world due to providing economical, healthier food than red meat and other protein sources. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated 103.5 million tons of global chicken meat production annually in 2012, which contributed about 34.3% to global meat production. Generally, poultry farming has performed a leading role in the livestock sector in some others regions of the world. But poultry farming system is affected by both environmental and disease stress. Various viral, bacterial, parasitic and fungal diseases affect the production performance of birds by affecting respiratory system, reproductive system, immune system, gut system and central nervous system which, in turn, cause loss of appetite, reduction of body weight, drop in egg production, air sac infection, coughing, sneezing, difficulty in breathing, septicemia (blood stream infection), paralysis of neck, wings and legs, enteritis (intestinal infection), bloody diarrhea, immunosuppression and higher mortality which cause huge economic losses in poultry industry. Therefore, there is need to control poultry diseases. Our aim was to provide a pictorial guidebook on poultry disease; diagnostic techniques and their effective treatment which may help to diagnose the viral, bacterial, parasitic and fungal infection. This may provide an important guideline to identify and minimize diseases before their incidence.