Concurrent Occurrence of Lower Respiratory Aspergillosis and Pneumoconiosis in a Turkey Flock

This study describes a concurrent occurrence of lower respiratory aspergillosis and pneumoconiosis in a turkey flock. From one flock of 1000 turkeys, 4 clinically affected turkeys were examined pathologically and microbiologically. Clinically affected turkeys showed anorexia, lethargy, drooping of the wing, vomiting, dyspnea and open-beak breathing, or sudden dead. Gross lesions were observed in the air sacs and lungs which presented white to yellowish granulomas of varying size. Microscopic there was multifocal granulomatous airsacculitis and pneumonia. At the center of the granulomas, fungal hyphae were clearly highlighted in the lungs and air sacs by Gomori methenamie silver (GMS) staining. In the microbiological cultivation of the affected lungs and air sacs, Aspergillus fumigatus was isolated on Sabouraud dextrose agar. Furthermore, dark black dust accumulations were present in the cytoplasm of macrophages or interstitial tissue in the lungs and air sacs. There were also fibrosis and lymphohistiocytic cell infiltrations around the particles. Overall, this study could implicated that pneumoconiosis might be a predisposing factor in the development of respiratory aspergillosis in turkeys.