Molecular detection of fowl adenoviruses associated with inclusion body hepatitis outbreaks in broiler flocks of Mazandaran, Fars, and Tehran provinces

Document Type : Full Research Paper

Authors

Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

Abstract

Inclusion body hepatitis (IBH) with the causative agent of fowl adenoviruses (FAdVs), due to incurring mortality in broiler farms, is considered a significant disease in the poultry industry. The present study was undertaken to detect and molecularly classify FAdV associated with outbreaks of IBH in broiler farms in Iran. Over 3 years, twenty-two outbreaks of IBH, in farms with ages between 7 to 42 days, were recorded in Mazandaran, Fars, and Tehran provinces. In each case, after taking history and recording gross lesions, virological and histopathological samples were obtained from the liver of the affected birds. The virological investigation was carried out by a real-time PCR targeting the 52k gene of FAdV and microscopic investigation of liver tissue was performed after hematoxylin and eosin staining. Histopathological investigation of liver tissue showed necrotizing hepatitis with the presence of intranuclear inclusion bodies attributed to FAdV infection. The molecular assay combined with sequencing analysis of the 52k gene revealed the involvement of 19 FAdV-D and 3 FAdV-E in IBH outbreaks. The present study is indicative of a prominent involvement of FAdV-D and -E in IBH outbreaks. Due to the vastness of the country's poultry industry, the epidemiological findings of the present study in the mentioned provinces could be advantageous for the control and prevention of this disease in the country. 

Keywords


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