No abstract

We compared immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of tissue sections of liver, kidney, spleen, lung, proventriculus, sciatic nerve, bursa of Fabricius, brain, heart, intestine and skin; immunocytochemical (ICC) staining of peripheral blood samples and touch preparations of liver, spleen and kidney of laying hens naturally infected with Marek's disease (MD) virus. We used one hundred and fifty 5-17-week-old commercial hens. IHC and ICC staining were performed using polymer-based techniques. IHC staining exhibited mostly free immunopositive reactions in tumor cells and in the cytoplasm of the parenchymal cells of liver, kidney, spleen and bursa of Fabricius. In the sciatic nerve, severe reactions were observed in the cytoplasm of plasma and MD cells in the lymphoproliferative areas. Pronounced staining was found in the lymphoid cells in the medulla of intrafollicular regions in the bursa of Fabricius. Although immunostaining was observed in the liver and spleen touch preparations, there was no staining in the kidneys and peripheral blood cell samples. The presence of virus in the tissue and peripheral blood samples and in touch preparations was compared immunohistochemically and immunocytochemically. IHC and ICC techniques were helpful for diagnosis of MD. Peripheral blood samples are inappropriate for field conditions and natural infections.

Infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) is an acute respiratory disease of chickens and a cause of great economic loss in commercial layers. The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of ILT in the field outbreaks and to compare the characteristics of ILT-infected and free flocks of commercial layers. A total of 625 blood serum samples were collected from 25 different layer flocks. The presence of antibodies against infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) in each sample was determined by ELISA. Of the 625 serum samples, 266 (42.56%) were found to be positive for ILTV antibodies. A total of 16 (64%) flocks were detected ILT positive by ELISA method. The mortality of infected flocks was statistically higher (P < 0.05) than uninfected flocks. The egg production of positive flocks was lower than that of the free flocks, but this difference was not statistically significant. The average live weight of hens in infected flocks was lower (P > 0.05) than hens in free flocks. In conclusion, the results of this study indicated a high prevalence of ILT infection in the commercial layer flocks in Konya region, Turkey. In outbreaks, ILT significantly increased the mortality rate and decreased the average live weight in layer hens.

No abstract

This experimental study was performed to investigate whether there is a protective effect of different doses of Glucomannan using against aflatoxicosis in Japanese quail, and pathological changes and relative organ weights were compared. In the experiment, 60 one-day old male Japanese quails were used as divided into six different groups. Experimental groups were designated as Control(C), aflatoxin(A), glucomannan(GM), 2-fold dose of glucomannan(2GM), aflatoxin+glucomannan(A+GM) and aflatoxin+2-fold dose of glucomannan(A+2GM). While control group quails fed the standard ration as ad libitum, other groups were fed with the administrations additionally to standard diet respectively; 2mg/kg of aflatoxin to group A, 1g/kg of glucomannan to group GM, 2g/kg of glucomannan to group 2GM, 2mg/kg of aflatoxin and 1g/kg glucomannan to group A+GM, 2mg/kg of aflatoxin and 2g/ kg glucomannan to group A+2GM. All quails were euthanized at day 21 of the study and organs, (liver, spleen, kidney, thymus and bursa of Fabricius) were removed, weighed and subjected to routine histopathological procedures. Although any important macroscopic changes were not observed in the C, GM and 2GM groups, significant pathological changes were found in the groups of A, A+GM and A+2GM. In the A+GM group, the partial reduction in the severity of microscopic lesions were seen in liver, bursa of Fabricius, thymus and spleen, however a significant reduction in severity of lesions was noticed in A+2GM group. As a result of the study, 2g/kg of glucomannan has been found pathologically to be more effective than 1g/kg glucomannan in terms of the protection against aflatoxicosis by giving orally.