Downgrading of heavy broiler chicken carcasses due to myodegeneration of the anterior latissimus dorsi: pathologic and epidemiologic studies.

Recently, in some Brazilian poultry companies, a dorsal cranial muscular lesion has been increasingly detected in broilers, causing heavy economic losses due to carcass downgrading. The observed gross lesions located in the anterior latissimus dorsi (ALD) muscle are characterized by yellowish discoloration of the skin and swelling on the dorsal cranial region of that muscle. When the ALD muscle is cut, subcutaneous edema, muscular superficial hemorrhage, pallor, adherence, and increased thickness and density are observed. Microscopically, findings indicate degenerative and polyphasic features, variation in fiber size and splitting, presence of hyaline, necrotic and regenerative myofibers, extensive fibrosis, and adipose tissue with lymphohistiocytic infiltration in all ALD muscles affected. The etiology of the lesion is unknown, and no detailed report was found in literature. The highest frequency of carcass downgrading due to this lesion was found in the heaviest and the oldest males of high-yield broiler strains (P < 0.01). This study is the first to describe the pathologic and some epidemiologic aspects of this new myopathy.

An atypical fowl pox outbreak in broilers in southern Brazil.

An unusual fowl pox outbreak occurred in two integrated broiler operations. The uncommon characteristic of this outbreak was that the pox lesions were manifested in the feathered parts of the body, mainly in the posterior dorsal area and external part of the thigh. Diagnosis was made by means of histopathology and virus isolation. Severe losses were incurred at the processing plant as a consequence of condemnation due to dermatitis. Vaccination of day-old chicks with mild fowl pox vaccine combined with Marek's disease (HVT) vaccine in the area of the outbreak appeared to be important in controlling the disease.