Deadly Outbreak of Iron Storage Disease (ISD) in Italian Birds of the FamilyTurdidae

Journal of Veterinary Medical Science

Ivan PECORELLI²  Silvia PAVONE³  Elisabetta MANUALI³  Sonia SALAMIDA³  Elisabetta ROSSI¹ 

[1] Diagnostic Specialist Area, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Umbria e delle Marche, Italy;Food Safety Division Area, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Umbria e delle Marche, Italy;Diagnostics and Animal Welfare Area, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Umbria e delle Marche, Italy

关键词: atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS);    histology;    iron storage disease (ISD);    liver;    Turdus spp;   

DOI  :  10.1292/jvms.14-0129

学科分类：兽医学

来源: Japanese Society of Veterinary Science

【 摘 要 】

References(27)A widespread deadly outbreakoccurred in captive birds belonging to the family Turdidae in Italy. Thepresent study was performed on 46 dead birds coming from 3 small decoy-bird breeders incentral Italy. Only Turdus pilaris, Turdus iliacus, Turdus philomelos andTurdus merula were affected. No other species of bird held by thesebreeders died. A change of diet before the hunting season was reported from all breeders.Full necropsy of the animals and histological investigations of representative tissuesamples were performed. Microscopical examination showed marked iron deposits in liversamples. Bacteriological investigations and molecular analysis to exclude bacterial andviral diseases were carried out. Contamination of food pellet samples by mycotoxins andanalysis to detect heavy metal contaminants in food pellet samples were considered. Aninteresting result was the high iron content found in food pellets. It was higher thanthat considered suitable for birds, especially for species susceptible to development ironstorage disease (ISD). Taken together, the results suggested an outbreak of ISD caused bythe high iron content of food given to the birds before the hunting season. The highmortality recorded only in species belonging to the family Turdidaesuggests a genetic predisposition in the affected birds.

【 授权许可】

Unknown