Therapeutic management of pseudomalaria in a flock of pigeons with chloroquine

Two Indian rock pigeons aged 2–3 months presented to the Referral Veterinary Polyclinic and Teaching Veterinary Clinical Complex, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Utter Pradesh with a history of decreased feed intake, twisting of the neck, and inability to fly. The same symptoms also caused the deaths of two other birds from the same flock. The bird seemed dull and depressed during a clinical examination, had ruffled feathers, a tilted head and circling. Examination of a faecal sample showed no intestinal parasites. Upon observation of a blood smear, many intracytoplasmic characteristic halter-shaped Hemoproteus columbae gametocytes could be detected. The case was diagnosed as pigeon pseudomalaria. The treatment was initiated with chloroquine@10 mg/kg body weight in drinking water for 5 days along with the multivitamin supplementation for one week. Permethrin spray was applied externally to the whole flock in the house to get rid of the fly vector. The clinical state of the birds was evaluated one week after initiation of the therapy. The pigeon had an uneventful recovery and the blood smear examination revealed no haemoparasites.