MYCOPLASMA-GALLISEPTICUM INFECTION IN CHUKAR PARTRIDGES, PHEASANTS, AND PEAFOWL

Mycoplasma gallisepticum infection was diagnosed in a group of chukar partridges, pheasants, and peafowl based on serology and isolation techniques. The farm also had quail, chickens, and ducks. Clinical signs in growing birds consisted of foamy eyes, swollen infraorbital sinuses, respiratory distress, and death. Breeding birds experienced a severe drop in egg production. Histologically, the growing birds exhibited lymphoplasmacytic inflammation of the conjunctiva, sinus, and trachea. The most likely source of infection was either chickens, which had been introduced before the onset of clinical signs, or the chukar partridge breeders, which had been obtained at various hunting field trials.