Bacteriological Study and Pathological Features of Necrotic Dermatitis in Broilers in Eastern Algeria

The various descriptions reported of necrotic dermatitis and its pathogenesis remains ambiguous. The purpose of this study is to suggest some pathognomonic characters of the disease with effective preventive and curative measures. Dead birds presented sudden death, greenish lesions at the wings and abdomen with adjacent tissues destruction. The distribution of lesions on 103 dead birds at 45th day of age showed that the right wing and the right abdomen are the most affected. The disease caused a mortality average rate of 12,8 % in a period of 5 days and treatments based on several antibiotics showed that only ampicillin and oxytetracycline gave positive results. The use of API 20 A kit confirmed the presence of Clostridium septicum. The present study showed that necrotic dermatitis must be differenced from others skin affections. Qualities of litter, pathological diagnosis, rapid and judicious treatment, are the most effective means to control this disease.