Symptoms of trichomoniasis include loss of appetite, inability to swallow, depression, weakness, crop stasis, and large caseous lesions in the mouth and crop.

• A. Inability to swallow only
• B. Only in birds
• C. True
• D. False

Answer: (C)

Avian trichomoniasis presents with upper digestive tract lesions that cause a distinctive set of symptoms. The disease, caused by a protozoan, forms thick, caseous plaques in the mouth and crop. These masses narrow or block the passage through the mouth and esophagus, leading to difficulty swallowing and crop stasis. Birds become anorexic, depressed, and weak as feeding is impaired and dehydration can set in. Seeing large caseous lesions in the mouth and crop is a hallmark finding and explains why the other signs—loss of appetite, inability to swallow, depression, and weakness—occur together. In this context, describing this full cluster of signs as associated with trichomoniasis is accurate; the presentation isn’t limited to a single symptom and while the disease is most typical in birds, the core features remain the same.