Abstract
Poultry production plays a relevant role in the Ethiopian economy and represents a source of poverty alleviation for several social classes. Infectious diseases can therefore significantly impact the economy and welfare. Despite infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) and avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) being present, the knowledge of their epidemiology and impact is extremely limited. In the present work, a cross-sectional study based on 500 tracheal swabs collected from 50 intensive and backyard unvaccinated flocks of the Jimma Zone was performed to investigate the circulation of these viruses and molecularly characterize them. IBV and aMPV presence was tested by molecular assays, and genotyping was carried out on positive samples. Accordingly, 6% (95% CI 2.06% to 16.22%) and 8% (95% CI 3.15% to 18.84%) of flocks tested IBV and aMPV positive, respectively. Particularly, IBV 793B (GI-13) strains were detected in backyard flocks only, and identical or closely related sequences (p-distance <2%) were detected in distantly spaced flocks, suggesting relevant viral circulation. On the contrary, both backyard and intensive flocks were affected by aMPV subtype B. Potential epidemiological links associated to the importation of parental birds from foreign countries could be established. These results highlight non-negligible circulation of these viruses, warranting further epidemiological studies and the evaluation of control measure implementation.
Highlights
Infectious bronchitis (IB) is a worldwide-distributed, acute, highly contagious viral disease of poultry caused by infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) and is characterized by lesions in the respiratory, reproductive, and urogenital organs [1,2,3,4]
AMPV subtype B was detected in two intensive (Jimma city farm) and two backyard farms (Table 1), and in Bovans Brown and local Horro breeds (Asendabo and Setema), corresponding to 8% farm-level prevalence, while the individual prevalence estimated from pooled samples was 1.04%
IBV accounts for the third-highest economic losses among all livestock diseases in the poultry
Summary
Infectious bronchitis (IB) is a worldwide-distributed, acute, highly contagious viral disease of poultry caused by infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) and is characterized by lesions in the respiratory, reproductive, and urogenital organs [1,2,3,4]. It infects chickens of all ages, but young chicks are more susceptible as resistance increases with age [5]. IBV causes major economic losses in the chicken industry because of poor performance, decreased egg production and quality, and mortality, which can be high in presence of nephropathogenic strains or when secondary infections occur [6].
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