title: High seroprevalence of respiratory pathogens in hobby poultry.
abstract: Seroprevalence studies on respiratory pathogens have been done extensively in commercial laying hens, broilers, and, to a lesser extent, backyard poultry. In Europe, seroprevalence studies in backyard and fancy breed poultry flocks are scarce and limited to a few pathogens, such as Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG); others, such as Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale (ORT), are missing. A commercial ELISA for detection of antibodies against six selected pathogens was performed on 460 serum samples from chickens across Flanders. Anti-ORT antibodies were, by far, the most prevalent, with a prevalence of 95.4%. Infectious bronchitis virus, Mycoplasma synoviae, and avian metapneumovirus antibodies were found in 75.6%, 76.3%, and 63.5% of the animals, respectively. Antibodies against MG and infectious laryngotracheitis virus were found in 36.7% and 30% of the animals, respectively. These data demonstrate the high seroprevalence of respiratory pathogens among hobby poultry; therefore, it is possible that this group could act as a reservoir for commercially kept poultry.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Haesendonck
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Verlinden
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Devos
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Michiels
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Butaye
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Haesebrouck
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pasmans
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martel
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D001530:Belgium / Q000453:epidemiology; D002645:Chickens; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*