| Abstract: |
Sixty- seven pigeons, suffering from nervous manifestation in the form of toricollis, were collected from different localities in Cairo,Sharkia and Dakahlia govemorates to elucidate the real cause of thedisease. Blood smears were prepared from the wing vein and stained withGiemsa. Pigeons were sacrificed and necropsied. Fresh samples wereaseptically collected from brain, liver and kidneys for virologicalisolation by inoculation of 11 day old chichen embryos through thechorioallantioc membrane. Specimens were collected from the lungs,brain, gizzard, -intestine, heart, spleen, pancreas, crop, poventriculus,oviduct and kidneys and fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin.Five micron thick paraffin section were prepared and stained byhematoxylin and eosin, prussian blue, van- Gison’s and Giemsa stainsaccording to Bartonet. al. (1992) and examined microscopically. The affected birds were 2-3 month old, and mostly females (90%). The main clinical signs included torticollis, inappetance and inability to fly as they made half circle flights and collided wThe Giemsa stained blood smears showed the gametocytes of Haemoproteus columbec in the erthrocytes of all the affected birds. Macroscopically, the gastrointestinal contents and mucosa from
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