Vol. 10, Special Issue 10 (2021)

Author(s):
R Jyothi Priya, Ganne Venkata Sudhakar Rao, N Pazhanivel, K Vijayarani, T Lurthu Reetha, M Parthiban, G Kalaiselvi and M Veeraselvam

Abstract:
In this study, a molecular based survey on the overall occurrence of natural cases of Infectious laryngotracheitis in commercial poultry flocks from Tamil Nadu, India for the period from 2019 to 2021 were studied. A total of 420 clinical samples from 70 commercial chicken flocks were investigated. The PCR technique was used to explore the variation in detection of ILTV-ICP4 gene in different clinical samples from the field outbreaks like oro-pharyngeal swabs, trachea, paranasal sinuses, caecal tonsils and harderian gland of birds. Out of 420 samples, 180 (42.86%) samples were found positive for ILT virus-specific ICP4 gene. Significantly higher tissue expression was recorded in the trachea and harderian glands of layer and broiler birds of all age groups, when compared to lower detection in oro-pharyngeal swabs. To our knowledge, this is the first documented report on ILTV outbreak in the state attributed to distribution pattern and detection efficiency of viral ICP4 gene in various types of flocks and different age groups. The findings of the study suggests that variation in viral antigen localization in trachea, paranasal sinuses, caecal tonsils and harderian gland will serve as an useful tool to assess the severity and route of transmission of the disease among different flocks and age group of poultry and will have an impact on sampling methods in disease diagnosis.