Duck virus enteritis (duck plague) outbreak in an Australian black swan (Cygnus atratus) flock at safari park in Bangladesh: A case report

Abstract

Objective: Duck virus enteritis is a severe viral disease that kills ducks and swans worldwide. The clinical manifestations, gross pathology, molecular detection, and characterization of the duck virus enteritis virus (DVEV) in Australian black swans at a safari park in Bangladesh were described in this case report. Materials and Methods: On a safari park in Bangladesh, an Australian black swan flock exhibited clinical signs of anorexia, greenish watery diarrhea, increased thirst, partial paralysis, and death. Postmortem examinations of deceased swans revealed extensive pathological abnormalities in the trachea, liver, and spleen. To isolate DVEV, a viral inoculum produced from the liver and spleen of dead swans was implanted into 9–13-day-old embryonated duck eggs via the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) route. DVEV was confirmed using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Phylogenetic analysis was used to determine the genetic relationship between the DVEV isolates from Australian black swans, and 16 DVEV isolates previously described in the GenBank. Results: Hemorrhage was noted in the annular ring of the trachea, as well as an enlarged and hemorrhagic liver and spleen. The PCR assay amplified a 446-bp fragment of the DVEV DNA polymerase gene in the liver, spleen, and CAM homogenates. The phylogenetic analysis found that the DVEV isolates from swans were comparable to those from Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, China, Germany, the USA, and Egypt. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, the DVEV was the cause of illness and mortality in an Australian black swan flock.

Pathological and Molecular Characterization of a Duck Plague Outbreak in Southern China in 2021

“…Additionally, clinical signs such as lacrimation were observed in the sick ducks in this study. The mortality rate (30%) in the present case was similar to an outbreak among Australian black swans that happened in 2018 [ 9 ], while Pazhanivel et al recorded a high mortality of 44.4% in ducks [ 4 ]. Mallard ducks were suggested to be less susceptible to DPV and bird mortality varies between duck species [ 11 ].…”

“…DP was first reported in the Netherlands in 1923 [ 7 ]. Since then, DP has been reported globally, including in China, Poland, Bangladesh, and India, which has severely harmed the global duck breeding industry [ 6 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. In China, DP was first reported by Huang et al in 1957 [ 12 ], after which it quickly spread throughout this Asian country.…”

Duck plague virus infection alter the microbiota composition and intestinal functional activity in Muscovy ducks

“…Duck plague virus ( DPV ) is a waterfowl pathogenic virus of the herpesviridae family that causes tissue failure and bleeding in the waterfowl ( Dhama et al., 2017 ; El-Tholoth et al., 2019 ). Following the initial discovery of DPV in the Netherlands, this infectious disease with a sudden onset was seen in duck farms all over the world ( Hanson and Willis, 1976 ; Aasdev et al., 2021 ; Islam et al., 2021 ; Khan et al., 2021 ). Affected ducks displayed similar symptoms, including severe manifestations of systemic hemorrhage, intestinal lesions, liver, and spleen hemorrhage.…”

Pathogenicity and transmissibility studies on live attenuated duck enteritis virus vaccine in non-target species

“…Despite substantial effortsto control virus transmission, DEV has continued to infect and spread, indicating that the threat they pose to both domestic poultry and public health has not diminished. To date, DEV has been reported in France, the United States, Canada, and other countries successively, and it has resulted in significant economic losses in modern farming ( Hall and Simmons, 1972 ; Hanson and Willis, 1976 ; Zhang et al, 2020 ; Chen et al, 2021 ; Islam et al, 2021 ; Shen et al, 2021 ). In China, thousands of ducks are reared annually in open fields, with no biosecurity measures in place.…”