News Stories
The case of the 'sleepy' eclectus.
June 2010
A twelve-year-old male eclectus parrot (Eclectus roratus) was brought into the practice because his owners noticed that he was 'sleepier than usual'. No obvious abnormalities were detected on physical examination and 'George' was admitted to the surgery for observation, faecal sampling and blood work. Faecal parasitology was negative but blood tests showed a massive increase in white blood cells with a mild anaemia, consistent with chronic infection. Following discussions with the owners it was decided that an anaesthetic for x-rays and internal endoscopic examination were indicated to try and pinpoint an underlying cause.
X-rays showed a shadow in the lower abdominal area (Fig. 1) with the normal 'dark' air sac region being replaced by a mass of some sort. Endoscopy (where a tiny camera designed to look into human joints is introduced into the body cavity) revealed the presence of pus in the lung, tiny abscesses in the liver and a cream coloured mass or granuloma in the region of the stomach (Figs. 2 - 4). Via the endoscope, biopsies and cultures were taken and sent away to the lab for further investigation. Whilst awaiting results George received antibacterials, antifungals and painkillers together with fluid and nutritional support. Given the above findings, the owners at this point were made aware of the extremely serious nature of his condition and prepared for the worst.
Results of the tests revealed a chronic infection with the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus. Aspergillus infection in birds is often a consequence of depressed immunity as a result of chronic malnutrition (in most cases vitamin A deficiency associated with 'all seed' diets), stress or excessive exposure to mouldy material e.g. the husks of poor quality seed or decaying organic material. George had been recently 'rescued' by the current owners with a history of such predisposing factors.
During hospitalisation, despite intensive care George was unable to maintain his body weight without supportive feeding, and so the decision was made to try him back in his home environment to see if, in part, his reluctance to eat was because he was in a strange place. The owners reported that George 'tucked into food' as soon as he got home! They are able to weigh him daily, so he is closely monitored and we are kept informed of his progress by phone on a regular basis. He is also very good about taking his medicines, which is lucky as he will need a minimum of 6 weeks antifungal treatment and will have to be nebulised three times daily for the foreseeable future. Nebulisation is an excellent, stress free way of administering medication directly into the lung and air sac system. A hospital nebulisation unit is used to create and pump a very fine mist of appropriate medication into the birds covered cage or carrier which is then inhaled as the bird breathes normally. The vast majority of birds tolerate this extremely well often standing right in front of the nozzle and breathing deeply as if they know it is helping them!
This case highlights once again that birds are incredibly adept at masking signs of disease. This is a biological adaption to deter predators who are able to pick up on the slightest apparent weakness. The extent of the changes within the body cavity suggest that George had been ill for months, yet the clinical signs that he showed were very subtle even to very experienced and devoted owners. Thankfully with early intervention, an accurate diagnosis and continued therapy George is showing no clinical signs and looking very handsome indeed! (Fig. 6)
