Kvet Forum
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This is a parasitic nematode worm that infects the tracheas of certain birds. The resulting disease, known as "gape" or "the gapes", occurs when the worms clog and obstruct the airway.
Many people mistake the difficulty a bird has with breathing as some kind of respiratory infection and may issue antibiotics. This won’t help if it’s gapeworm and the bird continues to deteriorate.
Clinical Signs and Lesions
- Gaping and gasping with the neck extended upwards.
- Fast head-shaking (as the bird tries to clear the throat).
- Coughing
- Loss of appetite
- Loss of condition.
- Listlessness and lethargy.
- Weakness, emaciation, grunting due to difficulty breathing.
Transmission Route
Eggs are passed up the trachea, swallowed and then defecated. Eggs can be concentrated by earthworms and various other invertebrates that serve as paratenic hosts. These then infect more birds in the flock when eaten.
Diagnostic Tests
The eggs are approximately 80–100 μm in length with shallow polar plugs, similar to the morphology of Capillaria and Trichuris. These nematodes are easily seen on necropsy given their bright red color and the fact that the males and females are attached and form a characteristic “Y” shape.
Differential Diagnosis
Avian pox, candidiasis, aspergillosis, trichomonosis, crop capillariasis, and vitamin A deficiency can have similar clinical signs.
Treatment
Treatments for gapeworm include benzimidazole antihelmentics including thiabendazole and fenbendazole.
1% Ivermectin can be used off-label in poultry. The drug is given to each chicken orally or added to the flock’s water source
Control
- Tilling the soil in the pens at the end of the growing season helps to reduce the residual infection.
- Treating the soil to eliminate earthworms, snails and slugs.
- Rotating areas used for poultry confinement.