Introduction

Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale, or ORT, is a bacterium

Bacteria

Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...

 that causes respiratory

Respiration (physiology)

'In physiology, respiration is defined as the transport of oxygen from the outside air to the cells within tissues, and the transport of carbon dioxide in the opposite direction...

 disease in poultry

Poultry

Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...

. It can cause disease in birds of all ages and is potentially fatal. O. rhinotracheale is found worldwide, and the bacterium may be spread between birds either horizontally

Horizontal transmission

Horizontal transmission is the transmission of a bacterial, fungal, or viral infection between members of the same species that are not in a parent-child relationship....

 or vertically

Vertical transmission

Vertical transmission, also known as mother-to-child transmission, is the transmission of an infection or other disease from mother to child immediately before and after birth during the perinatal period. A pathogen's transmissibility refers to its capacity for vertical transmission...

. It is not a zoonosis

Zoonosis

A zoonosis or zoonoseis any infectious disease that can be transmitted from non-human animals to humans or from humans to non-human animals . In a study of 1415 pathogens known to affect humans, 61% were zoonotic...

.

Scientists are currently investigating the process of the disease, as the ORT germ has only recently been discovered and identified.

Clinical Signs

Most commonly, respiratory signs are seen. These include nasal discharge, dyspnoea, sneezing and coughing. A drop in growth rates and abnormal egg production and joint problems may also be seen. There are reports of gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms in some cases.

Clinical signs are generally worse in meat producing birds

Broiler

A broiler is a type of chicken raised specifically for meat production. Modern commercial broilers, typically known as Cornish crosses or Cornish-Rocks are specially bred for large scale, efficient meat production and grow much faster than egg or traditional dual purpose breeds...

.

Diagnosis

The disease caused by ORT is characterized by pneumonia

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

, pleuritis and air sacculitis on postmortem examination. However diagnosis should be confirmed using laboratory tests such as bacterial culture, PCR, agar gel precipitation, ELISA

ELISA

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay , is a popular format of a "wet-lab" type analytic biochemistry assay that uses one sub-type of heterogeneous, solid-phase enzyme immunoassay to detect the presence of a substance in a liquid sample."Wet lab" analytic biochemistry assays involves detection of an...

 and serum agglutination.

Treatment & Control

Antibiotic

Antibiotic

An antibacterial is a compound or substance that kills or slows down the growth of bacteria.The term is often used synonymously with the term antibiotic; today, however, with increased knowledge of the causative agents of various infectious diseases, antibiotic has come to denote a broader range of...

 treatment can be attempted, but is not always successful. The choice of antibiotic should be based on culture and sensitivity

Kirby-Bauer antibiotic testing

Kirby-Bauer antibiotic testing is a test which uses antibiotic-impregnated wafers to test whether particular bacteria are susceptible to specific antibiotics. A known quantity of bacteria are grown on agar plates in the presence of thin wafers containing relevant antibiotics...

results.

Vaccination

Vaccination

Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material to stimulate the immune system of an individual to develop adaptive immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by many pathogens...

are reported to reduce the incidence of disease.

External Links

• Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale, reviewed and published by Wikivet at http://en.wikivet.net/Ornithobacterium_rhinotracheale, accessed 15/09/2011.