Scientists discover disease plaguing Russian poultry

A previously unknown disease amongst poultry in Russia has been finally identified and received the tentative title as ‘bacterial endocarditic of chickens’.

The discovery was made by researchers of the Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Experimental Veterinary Medicine of Siberia and the Far East (SB RAS).

The damage from the spread of this infection, that has harmed Russian poultry farming for the past two years, is estimated at RUB2 billion (US$70mln) per year, a report said.

SB RAS reports that the scientists were able to decipher the genome of pathogenic bacteria that causes the disease, reproduce it in the laboratory and to start testing it.

Poultry that die from this disease suffer from damage to the heart; in particular it often has endocarditis, as well as pathology of lungs and bones.

Scientists believe that the disease agent, the mechanism of infection of which has not yet been clarified, is a parasite in the blood vessels, which leads to the damage of various organs. There is preliminary evidence that it may be passed from parent to offspring, which could cause widespread damage among poultry stock.