Intestinal Cryptosporidiosis and Reovirus Isolation from Bobwhite Quail (Colinus virginianus) with Enteritis

An acute enteric disease of young pen-raised bobwhite quails was studied. Affected quails had white, watery diarrhea accompanied by dehydration and subsequent death. Mortality from hatch to 17 days of age ranged from 30 to 45% in the three flocks examined. Small intestines were thin-walled and distended with fluid and gas. Microscopic lesions in the intestinal tract consisted of villus atrophy, villus fusion, and sloughing of cells at the tip of the villi in duodenum, jejunum, and ileum. Cryptosporidium sp. and reovirus were identified in affected quails.