Diagnosis, Pathogenesis and Pathology of Virus Infection in Poultry

A special issue of Veterinary Sciences (ISSN 2306-7381). This special issue belongs to the section "Veterinary Microbiology, Parasitology and Immunology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (11 December 2023) | Viewed by 10326

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271002, China
Interests: viral immunosuppressive diseases in poultry

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271002, China
Interests: viral immunosuppressive diseases in poultry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Poultry diseases can affect one or more bodily systems in avian creatures. The most significant of these systems are the respiratory tract, the skeletal system and the intestinal tract. Although many factors play an important role in the full manifestation of diseases affecting these systems, one of the most important potential triggering factors is viruses.

Viruses can cause primary tissue damage, or act as a means for pathogens such as bacteria, mycoplasma and other pathogenic bacteria to directly attack the bird's immune system. This may cause many clinical problems, or prevent the bird from recognizing harmful substances. It may even prevent the bird from responding to a growing number of vaccines. In the 21st century, viral diseases remain a limiting factor for the expression of optimal performance in livestock.

In poultry, stress-induced immunosuppression is manifested by vaccination failure and increased flock morbidity and mortality. The pathogens that cause chicken immunosuppression include Avian leukemia virus (ALV), Avian reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV), Marek's disease virus (MDV), infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), and chicken infectious anemia virus (CIAV), etc. Infection of poultry with these viruses may lead them to death or at least increase their susceptibility to other bacterial infections, as well as reducing the success of vaccinations against other diseases, finally resulting in severe economic losses.

This Special Issue takes these avian immunosuppressive viruses and other viruses as the research objects and aims to explore the pathogenesis of poultry immunosuppressive diseases and provide countermeasures for improving the prevention and treatment of poultry immunosuppressive diseases. We seek to collect research progress on the poultry immune system in response to pathogen infection, as well as on infectious disease purification and control technology, and establish a control system to prevent large-scale disease transmission from the perspective of breeding and management.

In this Special Issue, we welcome all types of manuscripts (research articles, reviews, communications, and case reports) and provide a platform for leading researchers to present and discuss the virus infection in poultry.

Prof. Dr. Ziqiang Cheng
Dr. Defang Zhou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • avian immunosuppressive diseases
  • epidemiology
  • pathogenesis
  • immune response
  • immunosuppression
  • avian tumor virology
  • vaccine
  • diagnosis
  • avian viral infection

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 12926 KiB  
Article
Isolation, Molecular, and Histopathological Patterns of a Novel Variant of Infectious Bursal Disease Virus in Chicken Flocks in Egypt
by Ahmed H. Salaheldin, Hatem S. Abd El-Hamid, Hany F. Ellakany, Mostafa A. Mohamed and Ahmed R. Elbestawy
Vet. Sci. 2024, 11(2), 98; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci11020098 - 19 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1471
Abstract
After an extended period of detecting classical virulent, attenuated, and very virulent IBDV, a novel variant (nVarIBDV) was confirmed in Egypt in this study in 18, IBD vaccinated, chicken flocks aged 19–49 days. Partial sequence of viral protein 2 (VP2) [219 aa, 147–366, [...] Read more.
After an extended period of detecting classical virulent, attenuated, and very virulent IBDV, a novel variant (nVarIBDV) was confirmed in Egypt in this study in 18, IBD vaccinated, chicken flocks aged 19–49 days. Partial sequence of viral protein 2 (VP2) [219 aa, 147–366, resembling 657 bp] of two obtained isolates (nos. 3 and 4) revealed nVarIBDV (genotype A2d) and OR682618 and OR682619 GenBank accession numbers were obtained. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that both nVarIBDV isolates were closely related to nVarIBDV strains (A2d) circulating in China, exhibiting 100% identity to SD-2020 and 99.5–98.1% similarity to ZD-2018-1, QZ, GX and SG19 strains, respectively. Similarity to USA variant strains, belonging to genotypes A2b (9109), A2c (GLS) and A2a (variant E), respectively, was 95.5–92.6%. Also, the VP2 hypervariable region in those two, A2d, isolates revealed greater similarities to Faragher 52/70 (Vaxxitek®) at 90.4% and to an Indian strain (Ventri-Plus®) and V217 (Xtreme®) at 89.7% and 86–88.9% in other vaccines. Histopathological examination of both the bursa of Fabricius and spleen collected from diseased chickens in flock no. 18 revealed severe atrophy. In conclusion, further studies are required to investigate the epidemiological situation of this novel genotype across the country, and to assess various vaccine protections against nVarIBDV. Additionally, vaccination of breeders with inactivated IBD vaccines including this nVarIBDV is essential to obtain specific maternal antibodies in their broilers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnosis, Pathogenesis and Pathology of Virus Infection in Poultry)
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15 pages, 2885 KiB  
Article
Isolation, Identification, and Whole Genome Analysis of Chicken Infectious Anemia Virus in an Outbreak of Disease in Adult Layer Hens
by Yueyan Zeng, Hui Zhang and Huanrong Zhang
Vet. Sci. 2023, 10(7), 481; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci10070481 - 23 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1681
Abstract
Chicken infectious anemia (CIA) poses a significant threat to the chicken industry in China. Due to its non-specific symptoms, the disease is often overlooked. This study aimed to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the etiology and pathology of CIA in Guangxi Province, China. [...] Read more.
Chicken infectious anemia (CIA) poses a significant threat to the chicken industry in China. Due to its non-specific symptoms, the disease is often overlooked. This study aimed to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the etiology and pathology of CIA in Guangxi Province, China. Three strains of the chicken infectious anemia virus (CIAV) were isolated from liver samples of diseased 20-week-old chickens. The complete genomes of these strains were sequenced, and experiments on specific pathogen-free (SPF) chicks revealed that the GX21121 strain exhibited high virulence. Histopathological examination of the deceased chickens showed liver cell necrosis, fibrous serous exudation, inflammatory cell infiltration, hemorrhage in liver tissues, and congestion in lung and renal tissues. Phylogenetic analysis of the genome revealed that the three strains had a close genetic relationship to the Heilongjiang wild-type strain (GenBank KY486144). The genetic evolution of their VP1 genes indicated that all three CIAV isolates belonged to genotype IIIc. In summary, this study demonstrated the genomic diversity of three CIAV strains in adult layer hens. The isolation and characterization of the GX21121 strain as a highly virulent isolate provide valuable information for further investigations into the etiology, molecular epidemiology, and viral evolution of CIAV. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnosis, Pathogenesis and Pathology of Virus Infection in Poultry)
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11 pages, 1191 KiB  
Article
Development of a DAS–ELISA for Gyrovirus Homsa1 Prevalence Survey in Chickens and Wild Birds in China
by Shicheng Zhang, Jianhao Yang, Defang Zhou, Tianxing Yan, Gen Li, Xiaojing Hao, Qi Yang, Xiangyu Cheng, Hengyang Shi, Qing Liu, Yubao Li and Ziqiang Cheng
Vet. Sci. 2023, 10(5), 312; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci10050312 - 25 Apr 2023
Viewed by 2429
Abstract
Gyrovirus homsa1 (GyH1) is an emerging pathogenic single–stranded circular DNA virus that leads to immunosuppression, aplastic anemia, and multisystem damage in chickens. However, the prevalence of GyH1 infection in chickens and wild birds remains unknown. Here, we developed a double–antibody sandwich enzyme–linked immunosorbent [...] Read more.
Gyrovirus homsa1 (GyH1) is an emerging pathogenic single–stranded circular DNA virus that leads to immunosuppression, aplastic anemia, and multisystem damage in chickens. However, the prevalence of GyH1 infection in chickens and wild birds remains unknown. Here, we developed a double–antibody sandwich enzyme–linked immunosorbent assay (DAS–ELISA) to investigate GyH1 infection in 8 chicken species and 25 wild bird species. A total of 2258 serum samples from chickens (n = 2192) in 15 provinces, and wild birds (n = 66) in Jinan Wildlife Hospital were collected from 2017 to 2021 in China. The GyH1–positive rates in chickens and wild birds were 9.3% (203/2192) and 22.7% (15/66), respectively. GyH1 was present in all flocks in 15 provinces. From 2017 to 2021, the positive rate ranged from 7.93% (18/227) to 10.67% (56/525), and the highest positive rate was present in 2019. Upon chicken age, the highest positive rate (25.5%) was present in young chickens (14–35 days old). Moreover, the GyH1–positive rate in broiler breeders (12.6%, 21/167) was significantly higher than that in layer chickens (8.9%, 14/157). This study shows that GyH1 has spread in chicken flocks and wild birds, and the higher GyH1–positive rate in wild birds indicates the risk of spillover from wild birds to chickens. Our study expanded the GyH1 epidemiological aspects and provided a theoretical basis for GyH1 prevention. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnosis, Pathogenesis and Pathology of Virus Infection in Poultry)
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8 pages, 957 KiB  
Communication
Improvement of a Real-Time Reverse Transcription–Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay for the Sensitive Detection of the F Gene of Avian Orthoavulavirus-1 (AOAV-1)
by Prerana Bhande, Brigitte Sigrist, Linard Balke, Sarah Albini and Nina Wolfrum
Vet. Sci. 2023, 10(3), 223; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci10030223 - 14 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1954
Abstract
Avian orthoavulavirus-1 (AOAV-1) is the causative agent of Newcastle disease in poultry. This highly infectious disease causes large economic losses annually and worldwide. AOAV-1 does not only infect poultry, but it has a very broad host range and has been detected in over [...] Read more.
Avian orthoavulavirus-1 (AOAV-1) is the causative agent of Newcastle disease in poultry. This highly infectious disease causes large economic losses annually and worldwide. AOAV-1 does not only infect poultry, but it has a very broad host range and has been detected in over 230 bird species to date. A distinct group of viral strains within AOAV-1 are pigeon-adapted strains, also named pigeon paramyxovirus-1 (PPMV-1). AOAV-1 is transmitted through the feces of infected birds and secretions from the nasal and oral cavities and eyes. It is worth mentioning that wild birds can transmit the virus to captive birds, especially feral pigeons to poultry. Therefore, early and sensitive detection of this virus—including the monitoring of pigeons—is of utmost importance. A variety of molecular methods for the detection of AOAV-1 already exist, but the detection of the F gene cleavage site of currently circulating PPMV-1 strains has not proven to be particularly sensitive or suitable. As presented here, by modifying the primers and probe of an already established real-time reverse-transcription PCR, the sensitivity could be increased, allowing for a more reliable detection of the AOAV-1 F gene cleavage site. Furthermore, it becomes clear how important it is to constantly monitor and, if necessary, adapt existing diagnostic procedures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnosis, Pathogenesis and Pathology of Virus Infection in Poultry)
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11 pages, 1417 KiB  
Article
Development and Evaluation of a Blocking Lateral Flow Assay Strip for Detection of Newcastle Disease Virus Antibodies
by Rongzhou Lv, Junqing Guo, Yuhang Zhang, Xun Wang, Ge Li, Zekun Meng, Li Wang, Shujun Chai, Qingmei Li and Gaiping Zhang
Vet. Sci. 2023, 10(2), 152; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci10020152 - 13 Feb 2023
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Abstract
Newcastle disease (ND) is an acute septicemic infectious disease caused by Newcastle disease virus (NDV). Considering that vaccination is currently the main modality for the prevention of ND, it is essential to assess the effectiveness of clinical immunization. In this study, we have [...] Read more.
Newcastle disease (ND) is an acute septicemic infectious disease caused by Newcastle disease virus (NDV). Considering that vaccination is currently the main modality for the prevention of ND, it is essential to assess the effectiveness of clinical immunization. In this study, we have developed a blocking lateral flow assay (bLFA) strip for the rapid detection of NDV antibodies using the monoclonal antibody 9C1 against haemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN), which allows for the determination of an NDV-specific antibody titer within 10 min at room temperature. In addition, the bLFA strip has no cross-reactivity with the positive serum of other avian pathogens including avian influenza subtypes H5, H7, and H9, MD, IBD, IB, EDS, and avian adenovirus. The ability of the bLFA strip for detecting a neutralizing antibody was also estimated. The results showed that the chicken NDV hyperimmunized serum had a complete blocking (100%) titer of 11 log 2, and half-blocking titer of 13 log 2, which are 4 times less than and the same as that of the HI test (13 log 2), and 8 and 2 times less than that of the VN test (14 log 2), respectively. A total of 510 clinical samples were tested for NDV antibodies. The coincidence rate between the results of the bLFA strip and HI test was 97.65%. Therefore, it is an ideal alternative method for assessing the clinical immunity of ND vaccines in the field in real-time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnosis, Pathogenesis and Pathology of Virus Infection in Poultry)
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