Rhinotracheitis in turkey poults

A severe upper respiratory disease of young turkeys is described that resulted in high morbidity and mortality. Death was due to asphyxiation produced by occlusion of the trachea or nostrils. The postmortem lesions were tracheitis, pulmonary edema, swollen livers and spleens, and a drastic reduction in bursa size. Bursal necrosis and loss of tracheal epithelium were found in tissue sections from clinically affected birds. Antibody to infectious bursal disease was found by agar-gel precipitin and virus-neutralization tests of serum samples from affected flocks. A geometric mean titer of 31.5 for Newcastle disease was found in unvaccinated flocks of five-week-old turkeys.