Prevalence of Viral Neoplastic Diseases with Special Reference to Avian Leukosis and their Infectious Status in Different Pure Line Indigenous Chickens Kishore G.1, Reddy M.R.2,*, Kumar M. Asok1, Singh Vidya1 1Division of Pathology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar-243122, U.P., India 2Avian Health lab, ICAR-Directorate of Poultry Research, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad-500030, Telangana, India *Address for Correspondence, Dr M.R. Reddy, Avian Health Section, ICAR-Directorate of Poultry Research, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad-500030, Telangana, India, Email: rrmaddula@yahoo.com
Online Published on 17 November, 2022. Abstract Viral neoplastic diseases in poultry causes huge economic loss all over the world. The prevalence of avian leukosis in different indigenous breeds of chicken is not known and needs to be addressed for its effective control. A study was designed to record the prevalence of viral neoplasms in poultry, screening of avian leukosis virus/viruses (ALV) antigen in various pure line chicken, and the infectious status of ALV (viremia or shedding) in indigenous birds. Routine necropsy was carried out to identify the birds that were died of neoplasm and the representative samples were collected. Out of 4195 birds necropsied, 90 birds were recorded with neoplastic lesions in various organs with a prevalence of 2.1%. Grossly, tumor lesions were recorded in various organs in which the high frequency of tumors were recorded in liver, spleen, and kidney. Histopathological examination revealed 13.5% of the samples had myeloid leukosis, 25.2% were lymphoid leukosis, 20.3% were histiocytic sarcomas and 40.7% were Marek’s disease. PCR screening of the tumor samples revealed the prevalence rate of 45.5% Marek’s disease virus (MDV), 53.3% ALV, and 1.1% reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV). Co-infections of MDV and ALV were recorded in 37.7% (34/90) samples and MDV, ALV, and REV were recorded in 1.1% (1/90) samples. Among ALV positive cases, 54.1% (26/48) were positive for ALV E and 25% (12/48) were positive for ALV J. Screening of ALV p27 antigen by antigen ELISA in various pure line chickens revealed the prevalence rate of 76.3% in Kadaknath, 73.5% in Ghagus, 76.5% in Aseel, 20.1% in PB-1, 18.8% in PB-2, 19.6% in PD-1, 14.3% in PD-4 and 8.6% in CB. Further molecular detection of ALV was carried out in buffy coat and albumen samples from the birds of Kadaknath, Ghagus, and Aseel that showed high SPR value to determine the infectious status of the ALV. Infectious status of ALV in the birds revealed 40% in Kadaknath, 68.4% in Ghagus and 85.7% in Aseel were viremic shedders (V+S+); 33.3% in Kadaknath, 10.5% in Ghagus and 0% in Aseel were viremic non shedders (V+S-); 16.6% in Kadaknath, 10.5% in Ghagus and 14.2% in Aseel were non viremic shedders (V-S+). This is the first study that documented the prevalence of ALV in different indigenous pure line birds and their infectious status in India. Top |