Infectious Bronchitis survey to benefit poultry farmers

It was discovered that a variety of strains of Infectious Bronchitis with distinct differences exist between countries, according to the results of Fort Dodge’s first survey conducted by Liverpool University.

It was revealed that the most common strain detected from 2002-2004 was Italy-02, which is particularly dominant in the UK, France and Spain. Since 2004, the emergence of a novel strain, QX-like (L1148/D388), has been noted. It was most common in Germany/Benelux in 2004 and in France from 2006.

A concern raised by the results is a re-emergence of the D1466 strain seen in layers and breeders across Europe. This re-emergence is worrying because it is different from other strains and existing live vaccines do not offer protection.

IB is a common, significant, acute and highly contagious respiratory disease in chickens affecting flocls of all ages, and is caused by an avian coronavirus. IB is of particular economic importance as it causes poor weight gain and feed efficiency in growing birds and egg production declines sharply in laying birds.