TRICHOMONIASIS IN A FOWL
By S. NURUL MOHTEDA, G. M. V. C., Assistant Disease Investigation Officer (Poultry), Hyderabad-
Deccan
(Received for Publication on 3 April 1946)
(With Plate XI)
M ARTIN and Robertson [1911] recorded trichomonads in the caeca of fowls, but true infection
with these flagellates has not so far been recorded in fowls in this country. A first case of this
kind was observed by the writer in 1943 in Hyderabad State. The organisms are known to produce
lesions, sometimes fatal, in the upper digestive tract of birds. The similar disease, caused by Tricho-
monas columbae, is reported to exist in pigeons as well as in fowls in Europe, Asia, Africa and America,
and is characterized by the presence of necrotic areas in the liver, pericardium and peritonium. In
some instances the lungs and pancreas are also involved. The flagellates are found in the mouth,
oesophagus and crop of older birds. Recently, Levine and Brandly [1940] have shown that T. gallinae
produces lesions in the upper digestive tract of baby chicks, appearing as multiple caseous foci of
the mucous membrane. Young pigeons are believed to become infected from older carrier birds
through the medium of the 'pigeon milk' [Brocklehurst, 1944]. The writer [1946] has also recorded
the existence of T. columbae in the upper digestive tract of young pigeons but the pathogenecity of
these flagellates is yet to be determined in pigeons and other birds.
The clinical manifestations observed in the present case were dullness, inappetence, emaciation,
yellow diarrhoea, incoordination of movement and twitching of the neck. Such symptoms however
are common to many other poultry diseases. Microscopical examinations of blood and faeces during
life failed to give any positive indication of the cause of ailment. It was, therefore, considered neces-
sary to destroy the bird to ensure a correct diagnosis.
The fowl was a desi pullet and had been ailing for at least a week. On autopsy the changes
noted were confined to the liver, which was enlarged and which presented several extensive areas of
necrosis ; among these were one or two areas as big as marbles. There was a sharp lines of demarca-
tion between the affected and the normal tissues. The lesions were creamy-white in colour and con-
tained caseous material, such as might be found in tuberculous lesions. No changes in other internal
organs were observed, except for some inflammation of the mucous lining of the intestine and en-
largement of the caeca.
The diagnosis was made by examining wet films of tissue from the lesions in the liver. Under
1/6th lens, actively motile flagellates were demonstrated, pear-shaped organisms with flagella and
undulating membrane (Plate XI). Further microscopical studies were made on impression smears
from lesions, stained by Leishman's stain. Large numbers of flagellates were then seen in two forms,
spindle-shaped and round. There were three free flagella and one bordering the undulating membrane.
All the four flagella originated from a blepharoplast situated at the anterior end of the para-
site. The undulating membrane stained a pinkish colour, while the basal fibre was deep blue. The
nucleus was prominently placed, anterior to the middle of the body, and granular substance was
found scattered throughout the cytoplasm (Plate XI, fig. 1). Multiplication by longitudinal fission,
with components of two or four organisms, was also observed (Plate XI, fig. 2). The average size
of the protozoa was 10 × 8 microns.
The material collected from this case, viz., from liver, lungs, kidney, spleen, duodenum and caeca,
and also impression smears from the liver lesions, were sent to the Protozoologist, Imperial Veterinary
Research Institute, Mukteswar, for examination, and he identified the protozoa as T. gallinae.
It was also stated that the macroscopic lesions in the liver were typical of trichomonas infection but
that histopathological examination of other specimens failed to reveal any protozoal infection. The
necrotic areas in the liver showed numerous T. gallinae.
If left uncontrolled, this disease may become a menace to poultry under existing conditions,
as over-crowding, insanitation, rapid exchange of poultry population between rural and urban areas,
and rearing of chicks under desi carrier brooder hens, may help to disseminate infection. It is there-
fore necessary to collect reliable information, the extent of mortality and damage caused by this
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