Isolation and characterization of fowl aviadenovirus serotype 11 from chickens with inclusion body hepatitis in Morocco

Abstract

The present study was conducted in order to isolate, identify and characterize fowl aviadenovirus associated with inclusion body hepatitis (IBH) in three poultry farms (two of broiler chickens and one of breeder broiler chickens) in Morocco during 2015. Liver samples collected from affected three poultry farms were examined by histopathological examination. Tissue samples showing necrosis of hepatocytes associated with basophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies were homogenized and submitted to FAdV isolation in chicken embryo fibroblast (CEF) cell cultures and in SPF embryonated eggs. The cytopathic effect (CPE) was observed in the second passage with swelling and rounding of infected cells. The inoculated embryos were hemorrhagic and showed hepatitis with the presence of basophilic intra-nuclear inclusion bodies within hepatocytes. The presence of the virus was confirmed by conventional polymerase chain reaction based on hexon gene from all investigated samples. Moreover, phylogenetic analysis of the hexon gene revealed that FAdVs isolated from different affected poultry belonged to FAdV 11 serotype of the D genotype group. This work is the first isolation in cell culture and SPF embryonated eggs of FAdV from Moroccan broilers and breeder broiler chickens with IBH.

Pathogenicity of field strain of fowl aviadenovirus serotype 11 isolated from chickens with inclusion body hepatitis in Morocco

“…Inclusion body hepatitis (IBH) in chickens, first reported in the United States in 1963 [ 1 ], has become one of the major poultry diseases in many countries, including Morocco. Recent reports indicate a sharp rise in severity and occurrence of the disease in Morocco [ 2 – 6 ].…”

“…In Morocco, the virus involved in reported IBH cases have been molecularly identified [ 5 , 6 ] and the FAdV-11 has been isolated and characterized from chickens with IBH [ 6 ]. The pathogenicity of this strain has been evaluated in SPF chicken embryos [ 35 ] but the pathogenicity of the virus incriminated has never been investigated in chickens.…”

Characterisation of adenovirus strains represented species B and E isolated from broiler chicken flocks in eastern Poland

“…Fowl adenovirus strains were isolated and described in detail based on nucleotide sequence analyses of the hexon gene loop 1 for the first time in Morocco ( Redondo et al., 2018 ; Abghour et al., 2019 ). Strains were identified as fowl adenovirus closely related to type 11 and 8a, which represented species E like strains isolated nowadays in Poland.…”

A 10-Year Retrospective Study of Inclusion Body Hepatitis in Meat-Type Chickens in Spain (2011–2021)

“…Although the reasons behind this geographic distribution of serotypes remain unclear, the epidemiological scenario of FAdVs in neighboring countries could be of importance [7]. The identification of FAdV-11 in Morocco (south of Spain) [10] could indicate circulation of FAdVs via commercial poultry connections, either from Spain to Morocco or vice versa. The lack of publicly available reports of FAdV circulating strains from Portugal (west of Spain) and France (northeast of Spain) prevents confirmation of this type of epidemiological link.…”

“…In the last two decades, a growing number of IBH outbreaks due to FAdV-2, -8a, -8b, and -11 have been reported worldwide [1,[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. In Spain, a sharp increase in the number of IBH outbreaks in broiler and broiler breeder pullet flocks has occurred since 2011.…”