Clostridium tertium Infection in a Moluccan Cockatoo (Cacatua moluccensis) with Megacolon

Abstract

A 4-year-old Moluccan cockatoo (Cacatua moluccensis) was examined because of lethargy and a necrotic wound on the lateral base of the tail. Over the previous 2 years, the bird had chronic diarrhea and was treated with long-term antibiotics. A contrast radiographic study demonstrated slow gastrointestinal transit time and a large filling defect in the caudal abdomen. Clostridium tertium, a bacterium rarely found in psittacine birds, was isolated on bacterial culture of a fecal sample. Despite wound debridement and parenteral antibiotic treatment, the bird died. At necropsy, the colon was severely dilated. Histopathologic examination revealed diffuse, severe lym- phoplasmacytic inflammation of the colon and massive ulceration and bacterial colonization of the