title: Hypoglycemia, enteritis, and spiking mortality in Georgia broiler chickens: experimental reproduction in broiler breeder chicks.
abstract: The clinical signs, hypoglycemia, and mortality of "spiking mortality syndrome" were experimentally reproduced. Seven groups of day-old male primary broiler breeder chicks were orally inoculated with tissue and/or fecal-urate homogenates taken from field broilers with spiking mortality syndrome and from field broilers with enteritis and/or runting-stunting syndrome. All homogenates used as inocula were shown by transmission electron microscopy and negative staining to contain arenavirus-like particles. Inocula produced from field broilers with spiking mortality syndrome contained the highest numbers of the arena-virus-like particles and produced the highest percentage of hypoglycemic chicks 13-15 days postinoculation after a 5-to-9-hour fast. These homogenates also produced the most significant differences in mean plasma growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1 levels. The significance of the arenavirus-like particles is unknown but is currently being investigated.
authors.affiliation: Georgia Poultry Laboratory, Oakwood 30566, USA.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: de la Torre
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Scanes
authors.forename: S V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Radecki
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vasillatos-Younken
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Doman
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Teng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D001117:Arenaviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000662:veterinary*; D018050:Arenavirus / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002645:Chickens; D004751:Enteritis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000662:veterinary*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D005845:Georgia / Q000453:epidemiology; D007003:Hypoglycemia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000662:veterinary*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D011201:Poultry Diseases; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012098:Reproduction; D013577:Syndrome
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral