Outbreaks of thrush in pigeons in Punjab State of India

Due to high monetary turnover in business, white pigeon keeping for game purposes is gaining more popularity in Punjab. Overcrowding and poor management by undertrained naive farmers make these birds more susceptible to diseases not known so far in this region. A farmer reported that about a hundred pigeons were unable to feed properly and regurgitate feed. Birds lost body condition gradually, and three among these died. Both alive and dead pigeons were presented to the Veterinary Clinical Complex (VCC) for detailed examination. All these pigeons were found to be cachectic with wasting of breast muscles. On necropsy, no significant gross lesions were recorded in most of the visceral organs, except mottling of the liver. However, in the oral cavity, gray Turkish towel-like lesions were seen at the opening of the pharynx which continued into the larynx and proximal esophagus. Microscopic examination of material scrapped from lesions revealed a large number of budding yeast-like organisms and pseudohyphae, suggestive of Candida spp. Histologically, marked necrosis and sloughing of oral and esophageal mucosal epithelium with the presence of pyogranulomatous inflammation containing a large number of Candida organism were observed. To the authors’ knowledge, there seems to be no outbreak of thrush in pigeons in Punjab previously.