MLBA 13: February / March 2010

 

 

 

 

Poultry is one of the major success stories in the animal agriculture, largely due to consumer preferences for diet and health reasons. Of all the livestock sectors, it has achieved the greatest increase in production efficiency, whether measured in terms of cost, feed efficiency, or output per worker.

                                                        

Today's bird has the potential to grow rapidly due to intensive genetic selection, so they are more susceptible to stressors of the respiratory and circulatory systems. Respiratory diseases are the major group of diseases affecting poultry. Consequently, losses induced by these diseases are of major economic impact on the producers.

 

Many respiratory infectious diseases continue to decrease the profitability of commercial poultry production. Viruses, bacteria and fungi cause respiratory diseases or interact to cause disease. The management of poultry is also a critical factor in controlling respiratory disease. One of the diseases, Mycoplasmosis, has significant potential to impact the industry both in terms of animal losses and through export restrictions.