Fowl pox: Why you need to know about disease

Sick chicken in a farm

Fowl pox is a poultry disease that affects chickens, turkeys, pheasants, and even ducks. It is primarily a disease of older birds and is characterized by the appearance of warts or blisters on the skin surfaces of the head, wattles, and comb. The disease can also spread to the skin covering the back and legs.

This form of fowl pox is called the cutaneous type and rarely results in death. Affected birds typically recover within two weeks without any treatment. The other form of the disease causes similar lesions on the mucosal (inner) surfaces of the buccal cavity and respiratory linings. In rare cases, it can affect internal organs such as the liver and kidneys. This is called "wet pox" and may cause mortality rates of up to 50 percent in non-vaccinated flocks.