Nephropathy Associated with Bacterial Diseases in Broiler Chicken in Kashmir Valley

Bacterial nephritis of poultry is responsible for considerable mortality and production losses worldwide, it is the most neglected area in avian pathology. The present study was aimed to elucidate the renal pathology of broiler birds associated with bacterial disease conditions in the temperate climate of Kashmir valley. The research comprised of thorough examination of necropsied birds belonging to different poultry farms of Kashmir valley. A total of 112 cases out of 320 were associated with bacterial disease. The incidence of nephropathy was recorded in 26.8% colibacillosis and 8.1% salmonellosis cases. Tissue samples of affected kidneys were cultured on different microbial agar plates and isolates were confirmed by special culture and biochemical tests. The isolated microorganism included Escherchia coli (76.7%), Salmonella spp, (7.8%) and Proteus spp, (16.1%). The gross changes in the kidneys associated with bacterial nephritis revealed moderate to severe infection characterised by congestion, enlargement, paleness of parenchyma, along with dilated ureters. The histological lesions were characterized by hypertrophy of epithelial cells of renal tubules with pale cytoplasm, congestion of capillaries in both renal glomeruli and intertubular space with hypercellularity of glomeruli and interstitial oedema. In addition, there was atrophy of renal corpuscles affected with bacterial infection by E. coli and Salmonella. The present study recorded a high percentage of the E. coli isolates (76.7%) in kidneys, confirming the importance of this bacterium for inducing the lesions in kidneys of broilers.