Pathology and molecular diagnosis of Newcastle disease virus infection in broiler breeders Gowthaman V.2, Singh S.D.2,*, Dhama K.2, Barathidasan R.2, Anjaneya2, Ramakrishnan M.A.2,1 2Avian Diseases Section Division of Pathology, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly-243122 (U.P.) 1division of Virology, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Muktheswar-263 138 (Uttarakhand) *Corresponding author: email: sdsingh2005@rediffmail.com
Abstract Newcastle disease (ND) is one of the most devastating diseases of poultry causes a fatal respiratory, enteric and neurological disease leading to almost 100% morbidity and mortality. Although, Newcastle disease virus (NDV) infections reported in many avian species and different types of chickens viz. broilers and layers, reports on NDV infections in breeders are scanty. In the current study, disease investigation was carried out in a 35-weeks-old broiler breeder flock with heavy mortality and severe respiratory disease in Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh. Necropsy was carried out on freshly dead and ailing birds. In the virus isolation study, embryonating chicken eggs were died within 48 hours of inoculation and showed HA titer of 29. The NDV was confirmed by F gene based RT-PCR from amnio allantoic fluids samples. The present study confirms the existence of NDV infections in the breeders and emphasizes the need for developing effective vaccine programme and biosecurity measures to combat the Newcastle disease. Top Keywords Broiler, Haemagglutination assay, Newcastle disease, Pathology, RT-PCR. Top |