Characterization of Infectious Bronchitis Viruses Circulating in Egyptian Chickens during 2012 and 2013

Characterization of Infectious Bronchitis Viruses Circulating in Egyptian Chickens during 2012 and 2013

Infectious bronchitis (IB) is an economically important, highly contagious and acute upper-respiratory tract disease of chickens. IB continues to be a threat for chicken production in many countries including Egypt, even in vaccinated flocks. In the present study, 70 chicken farms (broiler, layers and broiler breeders) showing respiratory manifestations from 5 governorates were screened for IBV infection by RT-PCR. Twenty farms tested positive to IBV representing 28.5% from the tested farms, all from commercial broilers. The mortalities in the positive flocks ranged from 10% to 40% and the age ranged between 25- and 38-day-old.