Abstract
BackgroudMycoplasma synoviae (M. synoviae) is widely distributed around the world, and leads to serious economic losses in the world every year. Nevertheless, the incidence and epidemiology of M. synoviae infection in China have remained unclear.ResultsIn this study we demonstrate that over 9773 broiler chicken flocks in 16 Chinese provinces were affected by M. synoviae between 2010 and 2015. Our epidemiological study revealed that M. synoviae was widely prevalent in multi-aged Chinese native breeder chickens, and the prevalence of M. synoviae in embryos of breeders reached up to 16.29%. In addition, our data showed that chickens aged 14 days or younger carried simultaneously high levels of maternal antibody against M. synoviae and high M. synoviae infection (10%), and low M. synoviae antibody levels in breeders and high proportion of M. synoviae infection in embryos could increase the chances of incidence in the offspring. Finally, our results also indicated that 3- to 7-week-old chickens might be most the susceptible to M. synoviae and, therefore, might play a key role in the horizontal transmission of M. synoviae.ConclusionOur findings suggest that M. synoviae is widely circulating in Chinese native chickens, accordingly, effective control measures are urgently needed to control the spread.
Highlights
MethodsSun et al BMC Veterinary Research (2017) 13:115 swabs were collected from three sick chickens at each farm) were collected from infected chickens in the farms (Table 1) of 16 Chinese provinces between 2010 and 2015
Identification of infectious synovitis caused by M. synoviae infection In 2010, a disease with characteristic infectious synovitis appeared in chickens in the Guangdong and Guangxi provinces of China (Fig. 1a1)
Natural M. synoviae infection in the offspring of native breeders The results showed that the change in M. synoviae antibody level in 1- to 20-day-old offspring was consistent with what was observed in the breeder flock described above
Summary
Sun et al BMC Veterinary Research (2017) 13:115 swabs were collected from three sick chickens at each farm) were collected from infected chickens in the farms (Table 1) of 16 Chinese provinces between 2010 and 2015. From 2010 to 2013, 1696 serum samples were collected from 53 infected broiler flocks (Table 2). Prevalence in multi-aged breeder farms According to the protocol for an epidemic outbreak, a total of 5760 serum samples were collected from 180 breeder flocks in 6 large-scale multi-age native chicken farms in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan and Zhejiang, where the disease occurred in 2013, and detected by ELISA. A total of 1332 7- to 9-day-old embryos (Table 3) were collected from farms in Guangxi, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Hunan in 2013. Allantoic fluid was collected from each embryo for detection of M. synoviae infection
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