How to Learn About Diseases That Affect Emus

Once you've established your emu farm, keeping your birds healthy is of utmost importance. Learning about the diseases that affect emus and the early warning signs of these diseases can help you eliminate or greatly reduce the risk factor involved. As with any livestock, there is always some risk of disease than can be passed on to the farmer, as well. Emus are doubly at risk to diseases that affect mainly horses, like encephalitis, as well as those striking poultry.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

The Fatal Diseases

1. Research Avian Influenza. This is one of the worst diseases because it usually results in putting down the entire flock. Common in poultry flocks, this disease can also affect ratites. Some common symptoms include loss of appetite, depression, blood-tinged discharge from the nose, loss of coordination and respiratory problems. Sudden death is not uncommon.
2. Learn more about Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE). This sometimes fatal disease causes swelling in the brain and is transmitted by mosquitoes. Effective pest control will help eliminate the risk of the disease becoming a problem. There are different versions of encephalitis, but EEE and St. Louis Encephalitis are the most common.
3. Study information about Research West Nile Virus (WNV). This disease is similar to EEE, only worse, because there is no treatment or cure. Emus will either produce antibodies to fight the disease or they will become very ill and die in a short amount of time. Also spread by mosquitoes, this disease is transmittable to humans. Horses are also more prone to this disease and there is a horse vaccine available that has been used on emus with positive results.
4. Look up facts about Exotic Newcastle Disease (END). As a result of the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) testing and quarantine procedures on all imported birds, including ratites, END is not currently an issue in America. However, if an outbreak did occur, the disease has almost a 100% death rate and like Avian Influenza, the entire flock would most likely be destroyed and the farm quarantined and sterilized by the state. Common signs of the disease include sneezing, gasping and coughing with a nasal discharge and greenish diarrhea, depression, muscle tremors, paralysis and significant or complete drop in egg production. It's spread through direct contact between infected and non-infected birds and spreads rapidly. Even with vaccination, an emu can still die from the disease.

Prevention and Further Assistance

5. Contact your local veterinarian or county agriculture extension agent to learn about setting up universal safety precautions for your farm to not only protect your emus from diseases, but also protect you and your family from those that can be passed on to humans.
6. Develop and practice daily biosecurity procedures to reduce the possibility of introducing infectious diseases to your birds. Again, your veterinarian or local agriculture agent can help you develop these procedures.
7. Practice effective pest and insect control methods to prevent introducing diseases into your flock of emus. Rodents and bugs can carry microorganisms that increase the risk of spreading disease. By eliminating or keeping these pests to a minimum, it will decrease the odds of a disease striking your emus.
8. Visit the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service website. This site provides overall information about emu health and diseases, including in-depth articles on causes and symptoms of major diseases with recent outbreaks.
9. Browse the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website which offers information on specific types of diseases, and the symptoms and results of these diseases. You can also find contact information, if you need further information or assistance in identifying a disease.
10. Purchase Maria Minnaar's "The Emu Farmer's Handbook" volumes 1 and 2, which is available from Amazon and Schatz Publishing. These books are full of photos and information about every aspect of emu farming including chapters on health, disease and biosecurity.
11. Subscribe to "Emu Today & Tomorrow" magazine. This publication is dedicated to commercial emu farming and offers monthly articles on various aspects of the industry including health related information and resources in the back of each issue.
12. Join the Emu Farming Information Group on Yahoo!. Becoming a member of this group is free of charge and allows you to chat with emu farmers and get their advice on numerous topics. For a fee, you can also become a member of the American Emu Association, which is also a good resource for information about diseases that affect emus.

Tips & Warnings

• There is an EEE vaccination available for emus; however, it does not prevent them from contracting the disease. It does, however, keep them from showing signs of infection and dying, which prevents emu farmers from noticing early warning signs of a disease that can be passed to humans.
• Humans exposed to WNV usually do not experience any symptoms or they only becoming mildly ill; if they have a suppressed immune system, then it can cause death.
• The average body temperature of emus is between 100 to 103 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything above 105 is cause for alarm; consult with a veterinarian immediately.
• Prevent germs by always cleaning off shoes, gloves or other personal items that have come into contact with fecal matter. Clean off tires on equipment including wheelbarrows and farm vehicles. This is especially important when visiting another emu farm where you can carry diseases back on your clothes or vehicle.
• Watch your flock closely for changes in appetite, listlessness and loss of coordination. These are all warning signs of several different diseases and should never be taken lightly.
• If there is any sudden deaths in your flock of emus, call a veterinarian or local agriculture extension agent immediately to have the carcasses tested. Also have the entire flock tested, so you can separate infected birds from the rest of the flock and possibly avoid losing them all.
• Wear protective equipment when disposing of carcasses or handling infected birds. You should really take this precaution anytime you're handling the birds or cleaning their pens, in case there's an undetected disease. Wear thick rubber gloves, protective eyewear and face mask to help ensure none of the contaminated body fluids come in contact with your mucous membranes.