Investigation of a herpesvirus outbreak in mixed breeds of adult domestic ducks using next generation sequencing.

ABSTRACT: This report characterizes the first lethal outbreak of Marek's disease on a large farm of mixed-breed adult ducks (>18,000) and identifies the pathogen that resulted in high mortality (35%). Clinical signs included inappetence, respiratory distress, depression, muscle weakness, and ataxia. Post mortem revealed enlarged fragile liver mottled with miliary whitish spots and an enlarged spleen. Histopathology revealed hepatocellular necrosis with eosinophilic intra-nuclear inclusion bodies, necrosis of splenic follicles and degeneration/necrosis of renal tubules. The disease was tentatively diagnosed as a herpesvirus infection, confirmed by virus isolation from the liver. DNA was isolated from 15-year-old archival formalin-fixed tissues from infected ducks and subjected to next generation sequ

SUBMITTER: Damir HA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9882916 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature