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Avian orthoavulavirus 1, formerly known as avian paramyxovirus type-1 (APMV-1), infects more than 250 different species of birds. It causes a broad range of clinical diseases and results in devastating economic impact due to high morbidity and mortality in addition to trade restrictions. The ease of spread has allowed the virus to disseminate worldwide with subjective virulence, which depends on the virus strain and host species. The emergence of new virulent genotypes among global epizootics, including those from Egypt, illustrates the time-to-time genomic alterations that lead to simultaneous evolution of distinct APMV-1 genotypes at different geographic locations across the world. In Egypt, the Newcastle disease was firstly reported in 1947 and continued to occur, despite rigorous prophylactic vaccination, and remained a potential threat to commercial and backyard poultry production. Since 2005, many researchers have investigated the nature of APMV-1 in different outbreaks, as they found several APMV-1 genotypes circulating among various species. The unique intermingling of migratory, free-living, and domesticated birds besides the availability of frequently mobile wild birds in Egypt may facilitate the evolution power of APMV-1 in Egypt. Pigeons and waterfowls are of interest due to their inclusion in Egyptian poultry industry and their ability to spread the infection to other birds either by presence of different genotypes (as in pigeons) or by harboring a clinically silent disease (as in waterfowl). This review details (i) the genetic and pathobiologic features of APMV-1 infections in Egypt, (ii) the epidemiologic and evolutionary events in different avian species, and (iii) the vaccine applications and challenges in Egypt.

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Background and Aim: Biosecurity practices are a must in broiler farms to reduce the risk of infectious agents. This study aimed to evaluate biosecurity measures in nine broiler farms in the Suez Canal area – Egypt with measuring the seasonal prevalence of salmonellosis. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on randomly selected nine broiler farms of different housing systems based on the ventilation methods from March 2018 to April 2019. A total of 12,600 samples (6480 environmental, 4320 non-environmental, 1080 sera, and 720 live birds) were collected during four successive seasons. Results: Highly significant increases (p<0.01) were recorded in body weight gains in opened and closed-houses during summer; in food conversion ratios in opened-houses during winter and in closed-houses during winter and fall; in performance indices in opened-houses during summer and closed-houses during winter; and in live body weights, carcasses weights, liver, spleen, and bursa's weights in opened-houses during spring and in closed-houses during fall. Highly significant increases (p<0.01) were recorded in total bacterial, Enterobacteriaceae, and Salmonella counts in opened-houses during spring and in closed-houses during summer, in Salmonella Typhi O and H, and Salmonella Paratyphi A and B sera titer in opened-houses during summer and closed-houses during fall. Biosecurity measures scored 34 out of 43 with an average salmonellosis prevalence of 6.0% in closed-house and 24 out of 43 with an average salmonellosis prevalence of 24.67% in opened-house broiler farms. Conclusion: Weak biosecurity measures in broiler houses (opened and closed) were not sufficient to prevent the entrance and multiplication of Salmonella spp. Disciplines, commitment, and regulations of biosecurity need to be enforced in broiler houses to prevent the introduction and spread of diseases.

Background and Aim: Probiotics improve intestinal balance through bacterial antagonism and competitive exclusion. This study aimed to investigate the in vitro antimicrobial activity, as well as the in vivo preventive, immunological, productive, and histopathological modifications produced by probiotic Bacillus subtilis. Materials and Methods: The in vitro antimicrobial activities of B. subtilis (5×106 CFU/g; 0.5, 1.0*, 1.5, and 2.0 g/L) were tested against Escherichia coli O157: H7, Salmonella Typhimurium, Candida albicans, and Trichophyton mentagrophytes after exposure times of 0.25, 0.5, 1, and 2 h using minimal inhibitory concentration procedures. A total of 320 1-day-old female Ross broiler chickens were divided into five groups. Four out of the five groups were supplemented with 0.5, 1.0*, 1.5, and 2.0 g/L probiotic B. subtilis from the age of 1 day old. Supplemented 14-day-old broiler chickens were challenged with only E. coli O157: H7 (4.5×1012 CFU/mL) and S. Typhimurium (1.2×107 CFU/mL). A total of 2461 samples (256 microbial-probiotic mixtures, 315 sera, 315 duodenal swabs, and 1575 organs) were collected. Results: The in vitro results revealed highly significant (p<0.001) killing rates at all-time points in 2.0 g/L B. subtilis: 99.9%, 90.0%, 95.6%, and 98.8% against E. coli, S. Typhimurium, C. albicans, and T. mentagrophytes, respectively. Broilers supplemented with 1.5 and 2.0 g/L B. subtilis revealed highly significant increases (p<0.01) in body weights, weight gains, carcass weights, edible organs' weights, immune organs' weights, biochemical profile, and immunoglobulin concentrations, as well as highly significant declines (p<0.01) in total bacterial, Enterobacteriaceae, and Salmonella counts. Histopathological photomicrographs revealed pronounced improvements and near-normal pictures of the livers and hearts of broilers with lymphoid hyperplasia in the bursa of Fabricius, thymus, and spleen after supplementation with 2.0 g/L B. subtilis. Conclusion: The studies revealed that 1.5-2.0 g of probiotic B. subtilis at a concentration of 5×106 CFU/g/L water was able to improve performance, enhance immunity, and tissue architecture, and produce direct antimicrobial actions.