Body temperature responses of Pekin ducks (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) exposed to different pathogens

ABSTRACT Poultry, like mammals and other birds, develop fever when exposed to compounds from gram-negative bacteria. Mammals also develop fever when exposed to the constituents of viruses or gram-positive bacteria, and the fevers stimulated by these different pathogenic classes have discrete charact...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Poultry science 2011-06, Vol.90 (6), p.1234-1238
Main Authors: Marais, M., Gugushe, N., Maloney, S. K., Gray, D. A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acetylmuramyl-Alanyl-Isoglutamine - toxicity
Animals
Body Temperature - drug effects
Cell Wall
Cross-Over Studies
Ducks
Lipopolysaccharides - toxicity
Poly I-C - toxicity
Poultry Diseases - metabolism
Staphylococcus aureus - immunology
Time Factors
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Summary:ABSTRACT Poultry, like mammals and other birds, develop fever when exposed to compounds from gram-negative bacteria. Mammals also develop fever when exposed to the constituents of viruses or gram-positive bacteria, and the fevers stimulated by these different pathogenic classes have discrete characteristics. It is not known whether birds develop fever when infected by viruses or gram-positive bacteria. Therefore, we injected Pekin ducks with muramyl dipeptide, the cell walls of heat-killed Staphylococcus aureus, or the viral mimic polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid and monitored their body temperature (Tb). For comparative purposes we also injected a group of ducks with lipopolysaccharide, the only known pyrogen in birds. We then compared the Tb invoked by each injection with the Tb after an injection of saline. Muramyl dipeptide did not affect Tb. The cell walls of heat-killed S. aureus invoked long-lasting, dose-dependent fevers with relatively low magnitudes. Polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid invoked dose-dependent fevers with high febrile peaks. Fever is a well-known clinical sign of infection in mammals, and the results of this study indicate that the pattern of increase in Tb could serve as an indicator for diverse pathogenic diseases in birds.
ISSN:0032-5791
1525-3171
DOI:10.3382/ps.2011-01389