Effect of Bordetella avium infection on electrocardiograms in turkey poults

Electrocardiograms (ECGs) were recorded from turkey poults infected with the W isolate of Bordetella avium. Strip chart data (amplitudes and intervals) were measured at 7, 14, 21, and 28 days postinoculation and compared with data from uninoculated controls. B. avium infection altered P-, RS-, and T-wave amplitudes, as well as P-R and S-T intervals throughout the 4-week experimental period. Heart rates were similar over the 4-week period in control poults, while rates in the infected birds were variable. Alterations in ECGs associated with B. avium infection appeared to be the result of disturbances in the cardiovascular system and may be associated with the pathogenicity of the organism in turkey coryza.