Non-Clostridium perfringens cholangiohepatitis in Broiler Chicken Livers Condemned During Veterinary Inspection at a Slaughterhouse of Uruguay

Abstract

Cholangiohepatitis in chickens causes economic losses by liver condemnations at the slaughterhouse, as well as, poor productive performance in commercial farms. The purpose of this study was to describe the histopathologic changes due to cholangiohepatitis in slaughtered broiler chickens from 39 to 45 days of age, referred by the veterinary inspector from a commercial abattoir of southern Uruguay. In all the studied livers, the epithelium of the intrahepatic duct showed degeneration and necrosis with various inflammatory cells and fibrosis. The bacterial culture of Clostridium perfringens from fresh samples of these livers was negative and Gram-positive bacteria and PAS-positive fungi were not detected in the affected bile ducts.