Avian adeno viruses (AAV) and chicken anaemia viruses (CAV) cause serious economic losses to the poultry industry in Pakistan each year, according to Latif U. Rehman of KPK Agricultural University in Peshawar and co-authors there and at GP (Grand Parent) Laboratory in Lahore, Kohat University of Science and Technology and the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Lahore.

In their paper, published recently in Virology Journal, they explain that timely and efficient diagnosis of the viruses is needed in order to practice prevention and control strategies.

In the first part of the study, the researchers investigated broilers, breeder and layer stocks for morbidity and mortality rates due to AAV and CAV infections and any co-infections by examining signs and symptoms typical of their infestation or post mortem examination.

In the second part of the study, they describe their development of a duplex PCR assay for the detection of AAV and CAV, which is capable of detecting both the viral types prevalent in Pakistan simultaneously, with high sensitivity and 100 per cent specificity.

Reference

Rehman L.U., B. Sultan, I. Ali, M.A. Bhatti, S.U. Khan, K.U. Zaman, A.T. Jahangiri, N.U. Khan, A. Iqbal, J. Bakht, Z.A. Swati and M.U. Rehman. 2011. Duplex PCR assay for the detection of avian adeno virus and chicken anemia virus prevalent in Pakistan. Virology Journal, 8:440. doi:10.1186/1743-422X-8-440

Further Reading

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Further Reading

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Find out more information on the diseases mentioned in this article by clicking here.

October 2011