Abstract
Outbreaks of inclusion body hepatitis have emerged in Morocco since 2013 and has resulted in significant economic losses to poultry farms. Three isolates of the causative virus, Fowl adenonovirus (FAdV)were characterized from chickens with IBH, but their pathogenicity has never been investigated. In this work, the pathogenicity of an isolate FAdV 11 (MOR300315 strain) was evaluated by inoculating a group of 40 SPF chickens at 3 days of age by oral route. A group of 40 chicks injected with phosphate-buffered saline solution was used as a control group. The infected chickens showed decreased weight gain from 3dpi. Necropsy displayed pallor and enlargement in liver, swelling and slight hemorrhage in kidney and spleen at 6 dpi. Histopathological changes were mainly characterized by severe and extensive hepatic necrosis associated with the presence of basophilic intra-nuclear inclusion bodies within hepatocytes. The FAdV was reisolated in chicken embryo fibroblast cell culture from liver tissue homogenate of infected chicken from 3 to 6 dpi. Viral DNA was detected by PCR in liver, kidney, spleen and cloacal swabs from 3 to 13 dpi. Antibody response against inoculated FAdV was appeared from 9 dpi. These results confirmed that the FAdV 11 strain is pathogenic in chicken. This study is the first experimental infection of FAdV 11 in chicken in Morocco, which increase our understanding of its pathogenicity in chickens and indicate that preventive measures against FAdV infection in poultry farms should be implemented in Morocco.
Highlights
Inclusion body hepatitis (IBH) in chickens, first reported in the United States in 1963 [1], has become one of the major poultry diseases in many countries, including Morocco
Old and recent studies suggested that infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) and chicken anemia virus (CAV) infections or other immune suppression factors may not be needed for the onset of Fowl adenonovirus (FAdV) based IBH in chickens [9, 20,21,22,23]
Specific pathogen free chickens infected with FAdV 11(MOR300315 strain) didn’t show any clinical signs during the experiment; only one bird was dead at 4dpi
Summary
Inclusion body hepatitis (IBH) in chickens, first reported in the United States in 1963 [1], has become one of the major poultry diseases in many countries, including Morocco. It was suggested that immune suppression due to preinfection or concurrent infection with infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) or chicken anemia virus (CAV) induces IBH in chickens [16,17,18,19]. Old and recent studies suggested that IBDV and CAV infections or other immune suppression factors may not be needed for the onset of FAdV based IBH in chickens [9, 20,21,22,23]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
