Abstract
Viral pathogens cause devastating economic losses in poultry industries worldwide. The Caribbean region, which boasts some of the highest rates of poultry consumption in the world, is no exception. This review summarizes evidence for the circulation and spread of eight high-priority, economically important poultry viruses across the Caribbean region. Avian influenza virus (AIV), infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), Newcastle disease virus (NDV), infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV), avian metapneumovirus (aMPV), infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), fowl adenovirus group 1 (FADV Gp1), and egg drop syndrome virus (EDSV) were selected for review. This review of serological, molecular, and phylogenetic studies across Caribbean countries reveals evidence for sporadic outbreaks of respiratory disease caused by notifiable viral pathogens (AIV, IBV, NDV, and ILTV), as well as outbreaks of diseases caused by immunosuppressive viral pathogens (IBDV and FADV Gp1). This review highlights the need to strengthen current levels of surveillance and reporting for poultry diseases in domestic and wild bird populations across the Caribbean, as well as the need to strengthen the diagnostic capacity and capability of Caribbean national veterinary diagnostic laboratories.
Highlights
Viral pathogens cause devastating economic losses in poultry industries worldwide.The Caribbean region has a thriving and growing poultry industry, which frequently suffers from the economic effects of disease
A 2009 serological study carried out in Grenada found that 18.8% of backyard poultry had antibodies to Avian influenza virus (AIV); in a subsequent study, no viral antibodies were detected in commercial layers and broilers on the island [18,19]
Both the virus isolates from Belize and the Dominican Republic (DR) were found to be virulent Newcastle disease virus (NDV) strains based on intracerebral pathogenicity index (ICPI) scores, clinicopathological assessments, fusion protein cleavage site analysis, and genomic characterization
Summary
Viral pathogens cause devastating economic losses in poultry industries worldwide. The Caribbean region has a thriving and growing poultry industry, which frequently suffers from the economic effects of disease. Improved knowledge related to the circulation and spread of viral pathogens affecting poultry within the Caribbean is critical to enable both public health and veterinary health sectors to introduce more effective prevention and control strategies. This would have a direct effect on improving the health and welfare of poultry, as well as increasing the profits for poultry farmers, across the Caribbean region. All reports/publications describing the detection of viruses and outbreaks of disease in both vaccinated and unvaccinated poultry were reviewed. When information pertaining to vaccination history was given in the relevant report/publication, this information was included
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