TREATMENT OF BACTERIAL AND FUNGAL INFECTIONS IN PSITTACINE BIRDS

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from the Proceedings of The International Aviculturists Society, January 11 - 15, 1995

We celebrated the tenth year of our program and are very grateful for all of the support we have received from the avicultural and pet bird community. Our goals and are listed below.

Establish safe and effective treatment regimens for bacterial, chlamydial and fungal infections in caged birds.

Train veterinary students in non-domestic avian medicine so more skilled avian practitioners will be available to aviculturists and pet owners.

Establish a residency program to train board-certified specialists in avian medicine who will become tomorrow's leaders in this field.

Establish an outreach program to facilitate research on captive production and global conservation of avian species.

Treatment of bacterial infections. We have established investigated the pharmacology of and established safe and effective drug doses for the following antibiotics in one or more psittacine species.

Treatment of chlamydiosis (psittacosis). We have established safe and effective dosage regimens for the following treatment methods in several psittacine species.

Diagnosis of chlamydiosis. We have compared the following diagnostic methods to establish performance characteristics and usability of the tests.

- Peroxidase/antiperoxidase and fluorescent antibody antigen testing in tissues, feces, and exudates.

- We are in the process of creating an assay and completing trials with azithromycin.

- In the process of creating an assay and completing trials with fluconazole (a new antifungal drug with greater efficacy against yeast and possibly, aspergillosis).

Atoxoplasma infection in canaries. Established information on diagnosis and the long-term epidemiology of this parasite in canaries.

Bile acid measurement in psittacine birds. Established normal values to guide interpretation of this important test of liver function in psittacine birds.

Have provided training to 10 classes of new veterinary graduates. Three residents have completed a 2 year program in advanced avian medicine, surgery and research.

The most common microbial infections in psittacine birds are caused by gram negative bacteria, chlamydia, and yeast. Through our work with numerous antimicrobial drugs, we have established that following drugs are most effective for these common infections: enrofloxacin (for gram negative bacterial infections), doxycycline (for chlamydiosis), and fluconazole (for serious yeast infections). We already have good dosage information for many psittacine species for these drugs; however, drug metabolism can vary so we would like to continue to test representative psittacine species to make sure we have appropriate doses for them.

We are continuing to investigate the use of medicated feed to treat infections in birds where individual dosing is difficult. We have devised ways to soak enrofloxacin into pellets and mix doxycycline into a mash, but still need to do more testing with various psittacine species.

We are continuing to work with azithromycin, a new drug that might improve treatment of mycobacterial and chlamydial infections. Experiments to measure tissue levels in pigeons were completed last year, but we are still working on the assay needed to measure the drug in tissues. We have had two chemists working on modifying the existing assay for the past year, and although we will be successful it was much more difficult than anticipated. This underscores the comment below ... establishing safe and effective treatment regimens using new drugs will be increasingly difficult in birds because of the difficulty of creating new assays. So let's use the drugs we do have available carefully.

We are also continuing work with fluconazole, an antifungal drug. We have completed experimental trials in African grey parrots and just received funding from the AAV to complete trials in three additional psittacine species. We expect to have full dosage information available late this year.

Establish treatment protocols in non-psittacine birds. We have just received a grant from the Raleigh-Durham Caged Bird Club to establish a colony of canaries so we can begin to work establishing safe and effective treatment regimens for canaries and finches.

Work with aviculturists to establish research data on increasing productivity in caged birds. This area is the topic of another paper in this proceedings.

Work with endangered species programs to aid international conservation. Currently, Keven Flammer is consulting with:

- USFWS Hawaii Avian Disease Working Group. We hope to obtain funding to improve treatment of malaria in the many critically endangered native Hawaiian birds.

- The School of Veterinary Medicine, National University of Costa Rica, and the University for International Cooperation, Costa Rica to provide training in avian medicine and provide support for projects creating sustainable economic alternatives for Costa Rican farmers by propagating and/or conserving scarlet macaws for ecotourism.

In the past, it was thought that Mycobacteria avium (avian TB) infections in birds were a threat to immunocompromised people (people with HIV infection, people receiving chemotherapy, etc). Recent studies using advanced biotechnology techniques, indicate that the forms of M. avium found in birds are rarely found in people and that birds are not a significant threat to people. Precautions should still be taken to prevent exposure from clinically infected birds but the risks are lower than previously thought. (Reference: Angulo FJ, et al.: Caring for pets of immunocompromised persons. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 205:1711-1718, 1994)

I spent two days locked in a conference room in Santa Fe, New Mexico with representatives from the National Association of Public Health Veterinarians, Inc. and the Centers for Disease Control. Our purpose was to modify the "Compendium on Control of Psittacosis". This is the document that public health officials and veterinarians turn to when faced with a case of chlamydiosis (psittacosis) in birds. It discusses epidemiology, risk and disease in people, and diagnosis, treatment, and prevention in birds. This group was wonderful, willing to consider new information and the needs of the birds. The document will be updated yearly - please review and send your comments to Keven Flammer, or the chairman of the group listed on the Compendium.

We have completed pharmacokinetic trials with doxycycline and enrofloxacin in Senegal parrots. Our research indicates that Senegal parrots metabolize these drugs more rapidly than many other psittacine species.

It is becoming clear that appropriate use of antibiotics by aviculturists is critical to preventing the emergence of resistant strains of bacteria. We have established dosage regimens for most of the effective antibiotics, but if resistance continues to emerge we will not be able to keep up. Please, please, please ... do not underdose these drug

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