You have infections and infections Newsletter March 2022

You have infections and infections
 

 
I am regularly emailed or called by enthusiasts, asking if I can help them. They have problems. Often for a long time. The performance is below par. A few say the first weeks of the season then it will still go, but after that I don't get them in the prizes anymore. I then ask what has already been done. Whether the pigeons were examined and what the findings were. Usually I am told that 'everything' has already been examined but that the vet has said that everything is fine.
 
That is of course possible. But when I ask what has been investigated, I often hear that a throat swab was made and that the manure was in order during research. When I then ask whether the airways have also been examined, it often remains very quiet on the other side. If I also dare to ask if the 'Bully' has also been searched for, then it depends on where the fancier comes from. It may be that the fancier says that his veterinarian does not believe in that.
 
Baytril
Of course, everyone is free to believe whatever they want. However, I think it is a pity that fanciers are completely sent into the forest because the pigeons do not get the right treatment. With proper treatment of this ailment, the pigeons are usually flying again within two weeks. This bacterium used to be very sensitive to Baytril®. Many enthusiasts and also veterinarians were therefore happy with this remedy. Because everyone knew at the time that if your pigeons did not fly or they stayed behind, then give them a cure with this and everything is solved. Unfortunately, this bacterium has become largely insensitive to this antibiotic, so that the problem becomes bigger rather than smaller if you use this medicine. Nevertheless, Baytril® can still be an excellent remedy for many diseases.
 
Use of resources
However, the resistance of bacteria is becoming an increasing problem. Many standard agents appear to be barely effective in resistance tests. The use of these resources often produces disappointing results. In general, therefore, one should no longer blindly cure with means that one is not sure whether they still work. In this day and age, it is much better to work on the basis of an antibiogram in which it is determined which remedy is most effective. If there is often no research done on the 'bully' a sensitivity test is then certainly not done. Blind cures are often the way to go. Very often with disappointing results because the fancier often ends up from the bed on the straw in the long run. The blind courses encourage further resistance formation.
 
But well there are enough veterinarians who check the pigeons for the cancker for coccidiosis and worms and then reassure the fancier with the words that everything is fine. If research of the respiratory tract were also done and if that is also in order, that would already be a much better statement. But in the airways hardly any mucus, yeasts inflammatory cells etc. are searched for. A missed opportunity and so simple to execute. A must for every enthusiast who has to contend with disappointing performances. After all, then it is Russian Roulette if one cures blind.
 
Bully
At the moment that one cures blindly and it has not been checked whether the bully is present, then that is not only a missed opportunity, but the fancier can farm backwards because then often the right means is not used to cure, so that the bully only becomes stronger. The bully, by the way, is a specific bacterium from the group of the Pseudomonas. We have established that the steevest was the same type that caused these complaints. Compare it to Salmonella bacteria. Of these, it also gives a lot of types. But in pigeons, only the type Salmonella is Typh. Var. Copenhagen of interest. The other types do not. Of the approximately 200 types of pseudomonas, only one type is also found in the pigeons.
 
Anyway. I wrote you have infections and infections. There are infections that occur in many pigeons and in those cases standard means still work quite well, as long as there is no bully present. The pigeons can then quickly recover and the fancier can participate in the game again with satisfaction.

But those aren't the complaints we get called or emailed about most of the time. In those cases, paratyphoid fever as the cause of the misery is often already excluded. It is those enthusiasts who have often already visited several veterinarians at home and abroad. Who have given countless cures without significant results. In a number of cases, a standard bacteriological examination has been carried out at laboratory X, Y or Z. Laboratories that are not focused on research of pigeons. The disappointments can therefore still be great after these studies.
 
Infections that are often diagnosed are Streptococci, Staphylococcus and E. Coli. Sometimes Chlamydiae. Now I have to say that the latter, the Clamydiae, can cause problems.
 
A good targeted approach can then mean a lot. But the other bacteria are often found where I then wonder if they are the cause of the misery. Usually these pigeons are so weakened by the many antibiotics that it is better to work on improving the general resistance and intestinal function than to choose again for a course with yet another antibiotic. We also observe Klebsiella more often in pigeons. This bacterium can cause pneumonia in humans. An annoying one even. But with pigeons this is usually not so bad. What we do see is that this bacterium in enthusiasts who have cured a lot, is more often selected and multi-resistant against many standard means. A very undesirable situation.
 
Blind cures
For some time now, we have been working with a laboratory that is able to detect many hidden infections, including fungal infections. The lab shows a lot of interest in the diagnosis of pigeons. If desired, various PCR tests can be used. The beauty of this lab is that they are able to detect germs in pens where chronic problems exist that are almost never demonstrated. You should never translate the demonstration of these germs one to one that it is the cause of the misery. But it is often an indication. Especially if we have to establish again that there is multi-resistance to these germs.
 
The most likely explanation for the presence of these germs and the problems possibly caused by them is the fact that these enthusiasts have almost all been prescribed frequent cures by several veterinarians. Unfortunately, however, not effective against these exotic germs. These then become stronger while the natural resistance of the pigeon system is lowered by the cure. The end result may just be that these germs that can hardly cause problems in pigeons without significant resistance loss can now suddenly cause long-term loss of form and problems.
 
Moral of this story. Blind cures are no longer desirable in the time of pigeon top sport. Thorough research, which is clearly more than manure testing and throat swab should take place in case of serious problems and should be considered sending samples to a specialized lab to detect hidden infections. But what is at least as important is the care for a good intestinal environment and a good general resistance.

Good luck Peter Boskamp