Development of a Polymerase Chain Reaction Procedure for Detection of Chicken and Turkey Parvoviruses

Abstract

Comparative sequence analysis of six independent chicken and turkey parvovirus nonstructural (NS) genes revealed specific genomic regions with 100% nucleotide sequence identity. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay with primers targeting these conserved genome sequences proved to be highly specific and sensitive to detecting parvoviruses in experimentally infected chickens. In a nationwide survey, a total of 138 field enteric samples from poultry flocks were tested by PCR for parvovirus presence. Of the tested chicken samples that were collected in 54 farms, 77% showed the presence of parvovirus, while 78% of the turkey samples that were received from 29 farms were parvovirus positive. For the first time, our data clearly demonstrate that parvoviruses are widely distributed in commercial poultry flocks in the United States. The high prevalence of parvovirus infection in birds from enteric disease-affected flocks suggests a potential role of these viruses in the etiology of enteric disease of poultry. Phylogenetic analyses comparing NS gene segments showed that most of the chicken and turkey parvovirus isolates formed separate phylogenetic groups. These findings suggest that the chicken and turkey parvoviruses might have diverged from a common ancestor and have subsequently undergone host-specific adaptation.

Naturally occurring parvoviral infection in Hungarian broiler flocks

“…Morbidity and mortality are variable, and the economic impact is primarily due to poor production, failure of affected birds to grow, as well as increased costs of therapy, and poor feed conversion efficiency; but in the severe forms, immune dysfunction and increased mortality have been reported (Day & Zsak, 2010). Viruses from numerous families have been identified in the intestinal tracts of poultry with ED: Astroviridae, Coronaviridae, Reoviridae, Rotaviridae (Pass et al, 1982;Reynolds et al, 1987a, b;Goodwin et al, 1993;Guy, 1998;Koci et al, 2000;Yu et al, 2000;Spackman et al, 2005;Pantin-Jackwood et al, 2007a, b, 2008bDay et al, 2007a, b;Jones, 2008;Reynolds & Shultz-Cherry, 2008), and Parvoviridae (Kisary et al, 1984(Kisary et al, , 1987Woolcock & Shivaprasad, 2008;Zsak et al, 2008Zsak et al, , 2009Day & Zsak, 2010). The role of these viruses in the ED is not fully understood (Zsak et al, 2008), but is supported by the syndrome reproducibility with preparations from the intestinal contents of affected birds, which do not contain bacteria or protozoa (Barnes & Guy, 2003).…”

“…The role of these viruses in the ED is not fully understood (Zsak et al, 2008), but is supported by the syndrome reproducibility with preparations from the intestinal contents of affected birds, which do not contain bacteria or protozoa (Barnes & Guy, 2003). The incriminated viruses have been directly demonstrated in both healthy and diseased flocks, suggesting that a certain combination of pathogens and/or factors can lead to the ED (Pantin-Jackwood et al, 2008a;Zsak et al, 2009). In the 1980s the potential involvement of parvoviruses in the ED was suspected (Trampel et al, 1983;Kisary et al, 1984).…”

A Novel Tool for Specific Detection and Quantification of Chicken/Turkey Parvoviruses To Trace Poultry Fecal Contamination in the Environment

“…The high levels of prevalence of parvovirus in chickens (ChPV) and turkeys (TuPV) in different countries (3,18,19,23,24) and the high level of stability of animal parvovirus (15,22) have been described. Here, the potential role of ChPV/TuPV as a new tool for microbial source tracking was evaluated by developing nested and also quantitative PCR-based assays for the detection and quantification of ChPV/TuPV in environmental samples.…”

Incidence of parvoviruses in chickens infected with Marek’s disease virus

“…The parvovirus infection widespread in chickens and turkeys from USA has been described (Zsak et al 2009). In our country, birds infected with parvovirus were detected in 29.4% of turkey farms and in 22.2% of chicken farms (Domańska-Blicharz et al 2012).…”

“…The sequences of primers for the detection of NS gene of ChPV were used as previously described (Zsak et al 2009). …”