Co-circulation of multiple genotypes of ARV in poultry in Anhui, China

Avian Pathol. 2023 Jun 14:1-25. doi: 10.1080/03079457.2023.2226081. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTABSTRACTPoultry production in China has been experiencing a high incidence of broiler arthritis /tenosynovitis caused by avian orthoreovirus (ARV) since 2013. In the spring of 2020 severe arthritis cases from broiler flocks were identified in a large-scale commercial poultry company in Anhui Province, China. Diseased organs from dead birds were sent for diagnosis to our laboratory. ARVs, including seven broiler-isolates and two breeder-isolates, were successfully harvested and sequenced. Interestingly, the genotypes of ARVs isolated from infected chickens were inconsistent between different flocks, or even between different houses on the same flocks. And pathogenicity in chicks confirmed that the seven broiler-isolates were pathogenic strains, which could cause arthritis in infected chickens. Subsequently, a total of 89.66 percent sera samples collected from apparently healthy adult broiler flocks unvaccinated against ARV tested positive for ARV antibodies, suggesting that low and high virulence reovirus strains may be co-circulating in the farm. To this end, we collected dead embryos of unhatched chicken eggs for pathogen tracing, and the two ARV breeder-isolates isolated indicated that the factor of vertical transmission from breeders to progeny should not be underestimated for the prevalence of ARV within broiler flocks. The findings have implications for the evidenced-based f...
Source: Avian Pathology - Category: Pathology Authors: Source Type: research