An analysis of the incidence of hyperfibrinogenaemia in birds with bacterial infections.

An analysis was carried out of fibrinogen values and heterophil counts in 87 blood samples from birds with a clinical diagnosis of bacterial infection. Increased fibrinogen levels were found in 63% and heterophilia in 56% of the cases. When a finding of either heterophilia or hyper-fibrinogenaemia was taken into account, the number of samples in which the diagnosis was confirmed was increased to 77%. It was concluded that fibrinogen estimation is a useful routine haematological screening test for birds.