Fowlpox Research Articles

Efficacy of Fowlpox Virus Vector Vaccine Expressing VP2 and Chicken Interleukin-18 in the Protection against Infectious Bursal Disease Virus.

In mammals, the role of interleukin-18 (IL-18) in the immune response is to drive inflammatory and, normally therefore, anti-viral responses. IL-18 also shows promise as a vaccine adjuvant in mammals. Chicken IL-18 (chIL-18) has been cloned. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of chIL-18 to act as a vaccine adjuvant in the context of a live recombinant Fowlpox virus vaccine (fpIBD1) against Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV). fpIBD1 protects against mortality, but not against damage to the bursa of Fabricius caused by IBDV infection. The Fowlpox virus genome itself contains several candidate immunomodulatory genes, including potential IL-18 binding proteins (IL-18bp). We knocked out (Δ) the potential IL-18bp genes in fpIBD1 and inserted (::) the cDNA encoding chIL-18 into fpIBD1 in the non-essential ORF030, generating five new viral constructs -fpIBD1::chIL-18, fpIBD1ΔORF073, fpIBD1ΔORF073::chIL-18, fpIBD1ΔORF214, and fpIBD1ΔORF214::chIL-18. The subsequent protection from challenge with virulent IBDV, as measured by viral load and bursal damage, given by these altered fpIBD1 strains, was compared to that given by the original fpIBD1. Complete protection was provided following challenge with IBDV in chicken groups vaccinated with either fpIBDIΔ073::IL-18 or fpIBD1Δ214::IL-18, as no bursal damage nor IBDV was detected in the bursae of the birds. The results show that chIL-18 can act as an effective vaccine adjuvant by improving the fpIBD1 vaccine and providing complete protection against IBDV challenge.

Avipox: Morphology, Host Spectrum, Epidemiology, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Prevention and Treatment

Avian pox is an infectious, slow-spreading, highly contagious viral disease that has been reported in numerous number of species of birds. These affect domesticated and free-ranging birds, resulting in economic losses in the poultry industry. They are thought to be highly host-specific but certain factors have changed this specificity pattern. In recent times, the emergence of avian pox infection has drastically increased involving new species as well. Infection is commonly observed in anatomical locations where feathers are absent, such as the toes, legs, or head, as well as in the mucous membranes of the oral cavity and upper respiratory tract. Quails and hawks are usually unaffected, but chickens, turkeys, canaries, and pigeons are highly susceptible to infection. While death can occur in severely affected birds, the disease more commonly results in weight loss, stunted growth, and decreased egg production. It is interesting to observe that the ailment was initially recorded in feathered creatures in the seventeenth century. In our review, we conducted a comprehensive literature search to collect relevant data. This search was primarily carried out using reputable academic databases, including PubMed and Google Scholar. The specific search terms and keywords employed in these databases are Avipox and Fowl pox. Additionally, the references have been precisely cited to ensure transparency and provide readers with access to the sources used in our study. This article contains all the details of the Avipox virus-like morphology, host, prevention, and treatment

Metatranscriptomic sequencing reveals there were abundant and diverse viruses in the midgut of diseased silkworm (Bombyx mori) with soft rot symptoms

To date, six viruses belonging to genera Alphabaculovirus, Cypovirus, Iflavirus, Iteravirus, Bidensovirus and Maculavirus were harbored in the silkworm (Bombyx mori) and in the cultured BmN cells. Diseased silkworms with unknown etiology often create economic losses to the farmers. In the present investigation, the abundance and diversity of viruses in the midgut of diseased silkworms with soft rot symptoms were assessed by metatranscriptomic sequencing in order to screen the potential pathogenic virus of the silkworm, B. mori. After removal of undefined reads, clean reads were assembled, and the obtained 76 viral unigenes were annotated to 43 viruses. Among these viruses, the B. mori cypovirus, Pieris rapae virus, Nodaviridae sp., B. mori bidensovirus, Pseudomonas virus pf16, Pseudomonas phage Skulduggery, Klebsiella phage KPN U2874, Equid gammaherpesvirus 2, fowlpox virus and Xestia c-nigrum granulovirus were dominant virus species. These metatranscriptomic sequencing results provided new clues for screening and identifying novel pathogenic virus of the silkworm.

Poultry health constraints in smallholder village poultry systems in Northern Ghana and Central Tanzania.

Smallholder poultry production is a major contributor to food security and rural livelihoods in low-and middle-income countries. However, infectious diseases limit improvements to smallholder poultry production and performance of the sector in general. Infectious diseases of poultry, especially viral diseases, have major impacts on the health and productivity of flocks and account for significant morbidities and mortalities of birds each year. This study utilized participatory epidemiology approaches to better understand the poultry health constraints and challenges faced by smallholder poultry producers in village poultry systems in Northern Ghana and Central Tanzania. The results show dominance of small-scale semi-intensive and extensive scavenging poultry production systems in the study areas. Newcastle disease ranked as the highest cause of morbidity and mortality in chickens in the two countries. The disease occurred mainly during the months coinciding with the dry season in both countries. Other health challenges among poultry flocks included worm infestation, fowl pox, coryza, and coccidiosis. Producers, especially in rural locations, had poor access to veterinary services and critical inputs necessary for poultry production. In the Northern region of Ghana, producers lacked definitive diagnoses for sick poultry due to a shortage of veterinary personnel and diagnostic laboratories. These challenges point to the need for increased investment in poultry disease control and prevention programs, particularly in rural areas. Interventions focused on expansion of veterinary and agricultural extension services and diagnostic laboratory capacity in rural areas and increased gender-sensitive training to enhance smallholder knowledge in poultry husbandry and disease prevention measures will support the development of the smallholder village poultry systems. Tapping into the diverse genetic reservoir of local chicken ecotypes with enhanced resistance to Newcastle disease through genomic selection, coupled with models for enhancing ND vaccination supply and use in the rural areas are potential future avenues for addressing ND constraints to production.

Development of a One-Step Real-Time TaqMan Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) Assay for the Detection of the Novel Variant Infectious Bursal Disease Virus (nVarIBDV) Circulating in China.

The novel variant IBDV (nVarIBDV, especially genotype A2dB1) mainly affects broilers in China. It causes an infection characterized by the atrophy of the bursa, a decrease in the level of lymphocytes, proliferation of fibrous tissue around the follicle, and severe atrophy of the follicle in the bursa. Poultry vaccinated with live IBDV vaccines do not have the challenge present with bursa atrophy, which is misdiagnosed for nVarIBDV because of the lack of other gross clinical symptoms. The present study sought to explore the potential and reliability of the real-time TaqMan analysis method for the detection and discrimination of the nVarIBDV genotype from that of the non-nVarIBDV, especially in live vaccine strains. This method will help monitor vaccinated poultry to control and manage infection with the nVarIBDV IBDVs. The nucleotide polymorphism in the 5'-UTR region and the vp5/vp2 overlapping region of the segment A sequences of IBDV were used to establish a one-step real-time TaqMan reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method in this study. The results showed that the method accurately distinguished the nVarIBDV and non-nVarIBDV strains (especially live vaccine strains), and there were no cross-reactions with the infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), Newcastle disease virus (NDV), avian influenza virus (AIV), infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV), fowlpox virus (FPV), Mycoplasma gallisepticum (M. gallisepticum), Mycoplasma synoviae (M. synoviae), and IBDV-negative field samples. The method showed a linear dynamic range between 102 and 107 DNA copies/reaction, with an average R2 of 0.99 and an efficiency of 93% for nVarIBDV and an average R2 of 1.00 and an efficiency of 94% for non-nVarIBDV. The method was also used for the detection of 84 clinical bursae of chickens vaccinated with the live vaccine. The results showed that this method accurately distinguished the nVarIBDV and non-nVarIBDV strains (vaccine strains), compared with a strategy based on the sequence analysis of HVRs at the vp2 gene or the reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) for the vp5 gene. These findings showed that this one-step real-time TaqMan RT-PCR method provides a rapid, sensitive, specific, and simple approach for detection of infections caused by nVarIBDV and is a useful clinical diagnostic tool for identifying and distinguishing nVarIBDV from non-nVarIBDV, especially live vaccine strains.

Current situation and genomic characterization of fowlpox virus in lower Egypt during 2022

A total of 45 samples of vaccinated and non-vaccinated layer chickens were collected from farms in the Egyptian governorates of Sharqia, Ismailia, Menofia, Gharbia, Kafr El Sheikh, Qalyubia, and Dakahlia in the year 2022. They exhibited nodular lesions on their combs, mouth corners, and eyelids, suggesting they were infected with pox disease, which was associated with a 3 to 5% mortality rate. The samples were grown on the chorioallantoic-membrane of embryonated chicken eggs to ensure their viability. In both vaccinated and non-vaccinated farms, 35 of 45 virus isolates were confirmed positive via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of fpv167 (P4b), based on the amplicon length of the fpv167 gene locus. The 6 strains from various Egyptian governorates were chosen for sequencing and genetic characterization. Phylogenetic investigation of the fpv167 (P4b) gene of sequenced strains clustered within sub clade A1 showed 100% correlation between FWPVD, TKPV13401 and fowlpox-AN2, fowlpox-AN3, and fowlpox-AN6, but only a 98.6% correlation between fowlpox-AN1, fowlpox-AN4, and fowlpox-AN5. Comparing the fowlpox-AN1, fowlpox-AN4, and fowlpox-AN5 strains with commercial vaccine strains (HP1-444-(FP9), vaccine-VSVRI), they had 98.6% identity, while other strains had 100% identity. The results of this study's mutation research showed that fowlpox-AN1, fowlpox-AN4, and fowlpox-AN5 had acquired novel mutations; fowlpox-AN1 had R201G and T204A; fowlpox-AN4 and fowlpox-AN5 had L141F and H157P. Further research is required to determine the effectiveness of the current vaccine in order to develop a new vaccine.

Review on diseases and health management of poultry and swine

Poultry and swine production play an important role in countries' socioeconomic development by providing proteins that support food and nutrition security. However, several infectious and non-infectious diseases hinder the production of swine and poultry. Therefore, this review aim to provide highlight of the common disease and health management of poultry and swine. Poultry production has suffered from different pathogenic microorganisms that cause devastating economic losses in poultry industries worldwide. Poultry can be infected with common diseases like endoparasites, ectoparasites, infectious bronchitis, Marek's disease, fowl cholera, salmonellosis, infectious coryza, fowl pox, avian encephalomyelitis, etc. Health management is a system of preventive medicine that considers the whole poultry farms and the total influences, including social, with respect to relationships with others in the flock, psychological, and environmental factors that affect health. Swine production can be destructed by the influence of infectious diseases, which include Mycoplasma Hyopneumoniae, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus, Trichinella spp., Toxoplasma gondii, Salmonella spp., Campylobacter, and Leprospira. This all causes respiratory problems, leg problems, reproductive disorders, gastrointestinal problems, claw and skin problems, parasitic infections, and piglet mortality. Endoparasites and ectoparasites are regarded as the most significant constraints for welfare and health, as well as economic loss, in swine production, particularly during the post-weaning period. However, health management of swine production can reduce the effect of disease and optimize their productivity. Herd health management practices include vaccination, genetic improvement, and observation for all animals’ clinical signs, record keeping, detection and treatment of injury, sanitation, disease, pest control, and animal handlers. Generally, disease has a great risk to the health of poultry and swine animals that causes a decrement in their production. Therefore, the health management on poultry and swine farms should have to be strictly measured and further studies need to be conducted to solve the major problem of economic loss of production.

Economic and Environmental Impact of Poultry Production in Ilorin Metropolis, Kwara State, Nigeria

This study investigated the economic and environmental impact of poultry production in Ilorin, Kwara State. Primary data were used and a sample of 120 poultry farmers through a multistage sampling technique was drawn from the study. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, gross margin analysis, OLS regression model and Likert-type scale. The results show that the enterprise incurred an average total variable cost of N135,450.0 and total revenue within the period was estimated to be N192,323.80 which was mainly generated from the sales of poultry birds. The gross margin was found to be N56,873.8 with N0.4199 can be obtained with a unit increase in the poultry production capacity. Thus, the broiler production is a profitable venture in the study area. The empirical finding based on the regression result indicate that, cost of labour, cost of chicks and marital status had positive coefficient and statistically significant in influencing the total revenue level. It means that any increase in their value will increase the revenue level. The result of vaccine/medication administered against diseases revealed that most of the poultry farmers uses Lasota vaccine (88%) against Newcastle disease, a combination of amprolium and coccimapro (27%) each for Coccidiosis, pox off (88%) for fowl pox disease, Gumboro vaccine (65%) for IBD gumboro and their sources of getting the medication/vaccines are majorly from Aromokeye agro vet and One step pharmacy. The analysis shows that among the various ways of waste management, the farmers uses the waste more for fertilizer (28%) followed by selling them (23%) while only (21%) of the farmers burn the waste (especially the dead birds) so as to prevent further spread of diseases on the farm. The empirical findings based on the environmental impact of poultry production reveals that waste generation is the major negative environmental impact of poultry production in the study area. Offensive odour also associated with poor waste management is ranked 2nd, diseases transmission, air pollution and water pollution are among the environmental impact of poultry production in the study area. Poor management system is perceived to be the major constraint, lack of security and government support ranked 2nd is seen as a problem.

An APOBEC3 Mutational Signature in the Genomes of Human-Infecting Orthopoxviruses.

The ongoing worldwide monkeypox outbreak is caused by viral lineages (globally referred to as hMPXV1) that are related to but distinct from clade IIb MPXV viruses transmitted within Nigeria. Analysis of the genetic differences has indicated that APOBEC-mediated editing might be responsible for the unexpectedly high number of mutations observed in hMPXV1 genomes. Here, using 1,624 publicly available hMPXV1 sequences, we analyzed the mutations that accrued between 2017 and the emergence of the current predominant variant (B.1), as well as those that that have been accumulating during the 2022 outbreak. We confirmed an overwhelming prevalence of C-to-T and G-to-A mutations, with a sequence context (5'-TC-3') consistent with the preferences of several human APOBEC3 enzymes. We also found that mutations preferentially occur in highly expressed viral genes, although no transcriptional asymmetry was observed. A comparison of the mutation spectrum and context was also performed against the human-specific variola virus (VARV) and the zoonotic cowpox virus (CPXV), as well as fowlpox virus (FWPV). The results indicated that in VARV genomes, C-to-T and G-to-A changes were more common than the opposite substitutions, although the effect was less marked than for hMPXV1. Conversely, no preference toward C-to-T and G-to-A changes was observed in CPXV and FWPV. Consistently, the sequence context of C-to-T changes confirmed a preference for a T in the -1 position for VARV, but not for CPXV or FWPV. Overall, our results strongly support the view that, irrespective of the transmission route, orthopoxviruses infecting humans are edited by the host APOBEC3 enzymes. IMPORTANCE Analysis of the viral lineages responsible for the 2022 monkeypox outbreak suggested that APOBEC enzymes are driving hMPXV1 evolution. Using 1,624 public sequences, we analyzed the mutations that accumulated between 2017 and the emergence of the predominant variant and those that characterize the last outbreak. We found that the mutation spectrum of hMPXV1 has been dominated by TC-to-TT and GA-to-AA changes, consistent with the editing activity of human APOBEC3 proteins. We also found that mutations preferentially affect highly expressed viral genes, possibly because transcription exposes single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), a target of APOBEC3 editing. Notably, analysis of the human-specific variola virus (VARV) and the zoonotic cowpox virus (CPXV) indicated that in VARV genomes, TC-to-TT and GA-to-AA changes are likewise extremely frequent. Conversely, no preference toward TC-to-TT and GA-to-AA changes is observed in CPXV. These results suggest that APOBEC3 proteins have an impact on the evolution of different human-infecting orthopoxviruses.

Survey study for diseases of house chickens in villages of Kirkuk governorate

This research included (436) infected case of house chickens were diagnosed in villages of Kirkuk in the period (January 2015 to December 2015).The study showed that Newcastle Disease still the most important diseases in poultry of Iraq, with a high percentage of (35.3%) from total cases. The incidence of other diseases were as follow: Parasitic infestations manifested in chickens as Ectoparasites (15%), Fowl pox (14.4%), Internal parasites (13.3%), Bumble foot (7.3%), Fowl Typhoid and Pullorum Disease (6.9%), Necrotic enteritis (4.8%), the low incidence with Fowl cholera (3%) was recorded .

EFFECTIVENESS OF CRYOPRESERVED CHICKEN EMBRYO FIBROBLAST CELLS FOR PROPAGATION OF DUCK ENTERITIS VIRUS AND FOWLPOX VIRUS

Primary chicken embryo fibroblast (CEF) cultures are excellent model systems for in-vitro virus propagation. However, the cumbersome preparation process of CEF makes cryopreservation highly essential. Cryopreservation in Liquid Nitrogen liquid phase (-196 °C) or vapour phase (-156 °C) are frequently used methods. In the present study, efficiency of cryopreserved primary CEF cells for the propagation of Duck plague virus and Fowl pox virus was evaluated. The cells were preserved for different time periods and different cooling methodologies were employed in order to assess the effects exerted by these variations. The efficiency of the cells was compared based on cell viability/ revival rate, ability to form monolayer and TCID50 of the propagated viruses. Cell count revealed viability of 75.60% and 68% post 2 weeks and 6 months of cryopreservation respectively following step freezing method. On the other hand, cells preserved using insulated cryo-containers exhibited 89% and 80% viability post 2 weeks and 6 months of cryopreservation respectively. Development of complete monolayer could be seen within 24 hours in all the batches irrespective of the cooling method used and the cryopreservation storage time. Infection with DPV and FPV yielded respective cytopathic effect from 48 hours onwards. CPE observed in the freshly prepared CEF and in those revived 2 weeks and 6 months post freezing, were similar in terms of typical characteristics and duration of appearance. From the findings of the present study it is evident that cryopreservation of CEF cells is a convenient and practical approach for virus propagation. Cryopreservation of primary cells offers a definite advantage over repeated culture preparation which is labour intensive, time consuming and dependent on the availability of embryonated eggs.

Recombination of Goose Parvovirus VP3 Gene and Goose Interferon Ɣ Gene from Fowlpox Virus Immune Protection and Its Mechanism

Gosling plague (GP) is caused by goose parvovirus (GPV) gosling acute, subacute, and septic infectious diseases, commonly known as gosling plague. At present, the prevention and control of GP at home and abroad mainly adopts the method of immunizing female geese with attenuated vaccine. Goslings can be immunized, but there are still the phenomenon of dispersive virus and virulence reverse. It, therefore, is urgent to develop a new safe and effective vaccine. The recombinant avian pox virus vaccines rFPV-GoIFNγ, rFPV-GPV-VP3 and rFPV-GoIFNγ-VP3 were used to monitor their antibody levels and evaluate the protective mechanism of the vaccine in this study. This study lays a foundation for further in vivo testing of recombinant avian pox virus vaccine for goose parvovirus and provides a reference for the development of recombinant avian pox virus vaccine for other avian infectious diseases.

Community biosecurity: A new approach to reduce infectious diseases including avian influenza in commercial poultry

To reduce the load of infectious diseases including avian influenza, a community involving poultry biosecurity model was piloted in Bogura, a northern district of Bangladesh from 2013 to 2017 for developing flock immunity in breeder farm and the community reached chicken like a win-win situation. The experiment started by selecting a commercial breeder farm where about 30,000 poultry were kept and had a record of being affected by avian influenza. The activities were the assessment of the poultry population within a kilometer radius of the breeder farm, providing health care services by a trained poultry health worker, vaccinating all village native chickens in the area above against Newcastle disease (ND), and Fowl pox, monitoring the level of antibody after vaccination against ND, and identifying the causes of sickness and mortality. When any bird died with clinical signs of AI, all surviving birds from that flock were purchased and culled off that household poultry immediately (spot culling), and proper disinfection was done by supervising the health worker. Affected farmers are provided compensation by the breeder farm. The results showed that the overall flack immunity against ND in the 3rd year was 90% at the community level, whereas on the breeder farm, it was 95% and 97% respectively against ND and AI in the selected area. However, the village chicken mortality due to infectious disease was significantly reduced, and no mortality was recorded due to ND or Fowl pox. The poultry population in that area increased twice at the end of the project. There were 13 cases of A/H5N1 confirmed by rRT-PCR from village chickens in those surveyed areas, and no positive case was perceived on that commercial breeder farm. From the study, it was concluded that community biosecurity has a positive role in reducing infectious diseases, including avian influenza, in commercial farming. Bang. J. Livs. Res. Vol. 29 (1&2), 2022: P. 62-66

KADAKNATH POULTRY FARMING – UPLIFT YOUR ECONOMY

Poultry farming is a profit earning business with less expenses. Mainly the chickens are reared for meat and eggs. Kadaknath is a dual purpose breed used for meat and eggs. The kadaknath is resistant to many diseases and well adaptable to any environmental conditions. It is a black flesh fowl. The varieties of kadaknath are jet black, Pencilled and golden black kadaknath. The poultry shed for kadaknath can be established in minimum area of 2000 square feet. The poultry shed should be kept clean and disinfectant must be sprayed twice a month to prevent disease attack. Grinded rava, pre- starter, starter and vegetable wastes are fed to kadaknath chickens. After six months kadaknath hens starts laying eggs and lay 100-120 eggs per annum per hen. The eggs are incubated in automatic incubator upto 17 days and after the embryo developed eggs are then incubated in manual incubator. On 18 -19th day the eggs are hatched out. F1 OR B1, IBD, lazota and fowl pox vaccine are vaccinated to kadaknath chickens. Kadaknath meat and eggs contains vitamins, minerals, protein and amino acids and it has great importance in curing various medical problems like head ache, post-delivery problems, nervous disorder and asthma.

Preventive Measures and Management Systems against Diseases and Abnormalities of Indian Peafowl in Bangladesh National Zoo

The wild and domesticated peafowls are prone to many bacterial, viral and parasitic infectious diseases. Various factors are contributing to infections in peafowls. However, there is very little published data on preventive measures and management systems against disease conditions and abnormalities of Indian peafowl. Therefore, we aim to identify the disease conditions and different abnormalities as well as its management in captivity. The research was done from April 2015 to December 2018 in Bangladesh National Zoo (BNZ) by direct interacting, observing, using structured questionnaire and taking data from record book. Vaccine against ND, fowl pox and avian influenza were used for Indian peafowl in BNZ for combating against those diseases. Without this medication against parasitic infestation was started from 4 month of age and later continued regularly six months’ interval. Some vitamin mineral and nutrients substances also used regularly for preventing several abnormalities and diseases. Routine checkup was also found to prevent diseases, abnormalities. A well management system has developed in relation with feeds, feeding system, and habitats for making protection against abnormalities, diseases and predators of Indian peafowl. The house was made with good protection system for entering predators and also the visitors which help to protect predation and disturbing of visitors. Without this cleaning regularly, proper drainage system, controlling for entering predators and enough spaces in houses also help in protection against abnormalities, diseases and predators. Feeds and feeding system was also found very good like regular fresh feed supply, balanced feed supply and nutrias feed supply all the year round to their peafowl’s. Without this properly brooding of peachicks also, help to prevent many diseases as well as express good growth performance. A veterinary hospital in the BNZ premises provides regular monitoring of their health status and suggests good quality management practices for all animals including Indian peafowl.

Identification of some avian diseases based on images obtained from a camera by convolutional neural networks

The research paper introduced several results achieved in the research and construction of an automatic system for early detection of various poultry diseases by computer vision technology, using artificial intelligence to analyse images from surveillance cameras. The experimental system used the deep learning neural network RepVGG as an inference model for detecting poultry diseases. Training data set and model evaluation for 3 diseases ORT, CRD, MAREK, including 500 images for each disease, were directly collected from surveillance cameras and from the internet. The training process used 80% of the sample images; the model reached an error of 0.02 after 5000 rounds of training. Evaluation of the model with the remaining 10% of samples achieved an accuracy of 99.94%. In the actual test with the surveillance camera (resolution 1902x1080 pixels), the system can detect and classify correctly diseases over 90%, especially for diseases with images involving multiple distinguishing symptoms, the accuracy was more than 98%.The obtained results showed that the system can be used to support early warning of diseases for poultry. The system can be trained to detect other poultry diseases such as Newcastle disease, fowl pox, pullorum disease, typhoid...

Viral Diseases of Poultry in Assam, India: A Review

The Indian poultry market is estimated to have an annual growth rate of 8.1% as of today. However, infectious diseases in poultry pose an important constraint in the growth and development of this sector in our region. Among infectious diseases, viral diseases of poultry pose a serious threat to the poultry industry from an economic point of view. Several viral disease outbreaks have been reported by various researchers from different parts of the country. Among the common viral diseases of poultry, incidences of Newcastle disease, Avian Influenza, Fowl Pox, Infectious Bursal Disease, Marek’s disease, Infectious Bronchitis, Infectious Laryngotracheitis and Inclusion Body Hepatitis are significant in Assam as well as other parts of India. Thorough epidemiological studies followed by the identification of different serotypes, pathotypes, strains, etc. by genotyping and molecular characterization of viral disease pathogens may lead to ways to control and eradicate the diseases. Importance should be given to maintaining basic preventive measures like biosecurity, farm hygiene, and proper vaccination. In a developing country like India, disease outbreaks can impact the country’s economy. In this study, a brief view of the common viral disease of poultry and its diagnosis and control strategies in Assam, India is depicted. However, this review well indicates a plethora of avian diseases that have occurred over the years causing a severe impact on poultry farming as a whole.

The co-administration of live fowlpox and Newcastle disease vaccines by non-invasive routes to chickens reared by smallholders in Tanzania and Nepal

The co-administration of commercial live fowlpox (FP) and Newcastle disease (ND) vaccines when given by non-invasive (needle-free) routes was demonstrated to be safe and to elicit immunity in two field studies, one in Tanzania the other in Nepal. Both studies were of a cluster-randomised controlled design in which birds were randomly assigned to one of five treatment groups: (i) administration with FP vaccine alone (feather follicle), (ii) administration with ND vaccine alone (eye-drop), (iii) concurrent administration of FP (feather follicle) and ND (eye-drop) vaccines, (iv) concurrent administration of FP (wing-web) and ND (eye-drop) vaccines, and (v) unvaccinated, acting as environmental sentinels. Data from a total of 1167 birds from seven villages in Hanang District of Tanzania together with 1037 birds from eleven villages in Dhading District of Nepal were collected over a period of 21 and 28 days, respectively. Immune responses to FP vaccination were evaluated by local take reactions, while those to ND vaccination were evaluated serologically by haemagglutination inhibition test. The two studies demonstrated that the concurrent vaccination of free-range, indigenous breeds of chicken with live FP and ND vaccines, both administered by non-invasive routes, was safe and induced immunity against FP and ND that were non-inferior to the administration of FP and ND vaccines alone. These findings are important to appropriately trained small-scale backyard poultry farmers as well as to paraprofessionals and community health workers helping to increase vaccine uptake and the control of both FP and ND in low- to middle-income countries.

Construction of chicken infectious anemia virus infectious clone and study on its pathogenicity.

Chicken infectious anemia virus (CIAV) can be transmitted through contaminated live poultry vaccine. However, the pathogenicity of contaminated CIAV strains is rarely reported. Previously, the chickens showed the typical symptoms of anemia after using the attenuated live fowl pox virus (FPV) vaccine. Therefore, exogenous CIAV contamination was suspected. We detected anti-CIAV antibodies in SPF chicks vaccinated with the FPV vaccine. CIAV contamination was confirmed in the FPV vaccine, and the CIAV strain was named JS2020-FPV. This study aims to rescue JS2020-FPV by reverse genetic assays and investigate its pathogenicity. Firstly, double-copies infectious clone of JS2020-FPV was constructed. For the pathogenicity study, infectious clone of JS2020-FPV was used to inoculate 1-day-old SPF chicks. The typical symptoms of anemia were observed in the JS2020-PFV group 14 days post inoculation. The hematocrit and body weight of chicks in the JS2020-PFV group were significantly lower than those in the mock group. Notably, the thymus development index and antibody levels of NDV were lower in chicks in the JS2020-PFV group than those in the mock group. Different degrees of apoptosis of MSB1 and DF-1 were observed after inoculated with the JS2020-FPV VP3 recombinant fusion protein expressed by E. coli system, indicating that VP3 induced apoptosis in the transformed cells. Overall, the pathogenicity of the CIAV detected in the contaminated vaccine was confirmed by inoculating SPF chicks with the double-copies infectious DNA clone in this study. Our findings indicate that the dangers of vaccine contamination cannot be ignored.

Genetic Diversity of Fowlpox Virus and Putative Genes Involved in Its Pathogenicity.

ABSTRACTTo determine the genomic variations of fowlpox virus (FPV)—the largest, very ancient, and still harmful avian virus—the complete genomes of 21 FPVs were analyzed. The genomes showed low genetic diversity relative to their overall size. Our studies revealed that FPVs could phylogenetically be divided into two clades, based on their regional distribution, and comparative analysis showed that 40 putative proteins of FPV were associated with geographic differences in viruses, viral pathogenicity, or the onset of diphtheritic lesions. The strain, classified into a subgroup different from others in the genomic analysis, showed relatively low pathogenicity in chickens, and the onset of diphtheritic lesions was observed to be caused only by the specific strain. Despite genetic differences, some commercial vaccines are protective against virulent strains, and intact reticuloendotheliosis virus inserted into field FPV strains was activated but there was no enhancement of the pathogenicity of FPV. These findings will expand our knowledge of the viral proteome and help us understand the pathogenicity of FPV.IMPORTANCE This study aims at determining molecular candidates using comparative genomics to differentiate between the diphtheritic and cutaneous forms of FPV infection, in addition to their association with the pathogenicity of the virus. Full-genomic analyses of multiple fowlpox strains, including field viruses, isolated between 1960s and 2019, and vaccine strains showed the genetic diversity due to regional differences. Comparative genomic analysis offered the clues related to viral virulence. We believe that our study makes a significant contribution to the literature because we are the first to perform such an elaborate study that compares 21 FPVs to study and highlight their diversity, despite the high level of homology between them. Our results shall help provide insights for tackling FPV that has been taking a toll on the poultry for years now.