Acta Vet. Brno 2010, 79: 91-98

https://doi.org/10.2754/avb201079010091

Viral Agents Associated with Poult Enteritis in Croatian Commercial Turkey Flocks

Ivana Lojkić1, Marina Biđin2, Zdenko Biđin2, Milivoj Mikec3

1Department of Virology, Croatian Veterinary Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
2Department of Poultry Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Croatia
3Poultry Centre, Croatian Veterinary Institute, Zagreb, Croatia

Received May 12, 2009
Accepted September 8, 2009

From 2003 to 2006, samples of intestinal content and spleens from 10-day-old to 6-week-old fattening turkeys showing clinical signs of enteritis were analyzed by specific PCR and RT-PCRs for detection of haemorrhagic enteritis virus (HEV), avian reovirus (ARV), turkey astrovirus-2 (TastV-2), and turkey coronavirus (TCV). A total of 23 flocks from 6 farms were included in the study. Specific sequence for HEV hexon gene was present in 6 samples from turkeys younger than and in one turkey at 6 weeks of age. A product of TastV-2 capsid gene was detected in 17/23 intestinal content samples. A 626-bp band of sigma A (S2) encoding gene segment from avian reovirus was present in three samples, all from the same farm. Sequence analysis of 450 bp fragment of avian reovirus sigma A encoding gene sequence showed that our strain had the identity of 91.3% with the strains 138, 2408, 1733, 919, T6, and Os161. No TCV specific PCR band was found in any sample. Four flocks were positive simultaneously for HEV and TastV-2, and three flocks on TastV-2 and ARV. Severity of poult enteritis described in our study is caused by immunosuppressive TastV-2 in combination with HEV or ARV.

References

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